


Beholder

by white_fox



Category: Naruto
Genre: Animal Transformation, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Past Abuse, slightly oc Sasuke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-06-27 09:22:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15682554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/white_fox/pseuds/white_fox
Summary: After learning his K-9 partner is retiring, Naruto adopted a pet dog. He named it Kurogane. Unfortunately for him, Kurogane's real name is Sasuke Uchiha, but Naruto sees him as nothing more than a dog.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: I've read several fanstories where the characters are animals or have animal like appearance, so I decided to write my own. Let me know what you think!

If anyone asked Sasuke Uchiha how it began, he would say it started with a dare. He was the second son of a rich business consultant and an interior designer. It came as no shock that his parents had shown disinterest in him as his brother Itachi quickly flew through school, leaving Sasuke behind to try to catch up. At the age of fourteen, Itachi graduated high school and entered university to get his business degree so he would one day take over the company when Fugaku died.

He went to the most prestigious school in the city, Konoha Academy. He had a group of people that he supposed he could call friends, but he mostly called them annoyances. They were children of other rich parents that congregated at the school. Sasuke only associated with them because his father wanted him to get closer to them so he could get closer to their parents. Yet another reason why Sasuke hated his father.

Sasuke had graduated at age sixteen and entered university a year later, but instead of business, he went into modeling. Sasuke knew he had a gorgeous body. Uchiha genetics always won through, and it didn't help that his mother had been a model herself before she got pregnant with Itachi.

Curious at his parents' constant dismissal of his existance, Sasuke began to rebel against his parents' authority. He didn't care what he did or who he hurt as long as it infuriated his parents. If the cops arrested him, it was just an added bonus to his rap sheet. Drugs, alcohol, anything that would infuriated Fugaku, Sasuke did. Fugaku would lecture at Sasuke about sullying the Uchiha name. Sasuke would half listen and go out to party.

Sasuke's rebellion was a subject of many fights in the Uchiha household, some of which would lead Mikato leaving for the night.

“Do you want our parents to divorce?!” yelled Itachi. Seventeen year old Sasuke just lay on his bed smoking a cigarette without an open window to filter out the smoke. “Don't you care about what we think? Do you enjoy our suffering?”

“Like you're suffering,” said Sasuke.

At a young age, Sasuke had admired Itachi. Itachi had been smart, athletic and somehow found time in his busy schedule to play with Sasuke where their father failed to do. Itachi would help him with his homework, helped him understand subjects that were difficult for him and comforted him when he was hurt.

But then Fugaku started training Itachi to take over the company, and Itachi started spending less time with Sasuke until the only time Sasuke saw Itachi would be at dinner or whenever he got home after work. Over time, Sasuke grew to hate Itachi for ignoring him and started rebelling. He hated Itachi for being smarter than him and for stealing all of his father's attention. Childish anger, he knew, but not even his logical and mature mind could shake the anger he felt toward his brother. Nothing Sasuke did turned his father's head, even when he graduated early like Itachi and had the highest marks in the school.

Itachi looked at Sasuke sadly.

“Is that what you think, Sasuke?” he said. “Sasuke, do you have any idea what you're putting our parents through?”

“Like they give a shit about me,” said Sasuke crushing his cigarette in an ashtray.

He turned toward the window and the light glinted off the various piercings on him. Aside from the four earrings on both ears, he had a nose ring on his right nostril, a lip ring on the left side and an eyebrow pierced along with a barbell in his tongue. He also had other piercings under his clothes plus a tattoo on his shoulder of three tomoe and tiny kanji surrounding it. Of course he got the piercings to piss his parents off and the tattoo was of his own design.

“Sasuke...”

Sasuke's phone rang and he answered it.

“Yeah?”

 _“Hey, Sasuke,”_ said Suigestu, one of Sasuke's 'friends'. _“Want to hang?”_

“Sure. Where at?”

_“Usual spot. See you there.”_

“Hn.”

Sasuke hung up and turned to Itachi, who was looking at him with an angry annoyed look. Without a word, Sasuke grabbed his jacket and left. He could hear his parents arguing in his father's study, more than likely about him. The maids had all gone home for the night and only the night butler was around in case they needed anything for the night.

“Anything I can get you, sir?” asked the butler as Sasuke left.

“No, and don't bother informing my parents about me leaving,” said Sasuke. “It's not like they care.”

Grabbing the keys to his Porche, Sasuke walked to the garage. Starting up his car, he drove it out and went to meet his “friends”. Their usual meeting place was a rock landmark in the forest. His 'friends' consisted of Suigestu Hozuki, his 'girlfriend' Karin, and their friend Juugo. Suigetsu's parents were marine biologists and as such he had an interest in marine animals, especially sharks. Karin's parents were surgeons and Juugo's father owned a sports company.

They were already there when Sasuke walked up. Immediately, Karin's face broke into a gleeful smile and launched herself at him.

“Sasuke-kun!”

Sasuke disentangled himself from Karin's grip and took the beer Suigestu handed him. It was known that Karin only dated Suigetsu to get close to Sasuke. She was the self-appointed president of Sasuke's fanclub, although Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka were its founding members and voted as president and vice-president. They had hung around Sasuke as well when he had gone to Konoha Academy but hadn't seen them after he left.

It wasn't that Sasuke didn't appreciate women. He admits that he would bump into them the majority of the time and that they were essential to the survival of the human race. What he hated was the looks and giggling and their preening. He hated how they threw themselves at him without his permission and incessant giggling in his ear. There was nothing that Sasuke wanted more than for them to leave him alone.

The reason why Sasuke wasn't interest in the female gender was because Sasuke was gay. He knew he was at the age of twelve when he was accidently kissed by a boy. Both had been arguing when another boy bumped into the other and kissed Sasuke. The heat he felt when kissed surprised and confused him. For days Sasuke had thought over the kiss until he was kissed by Sakura Haruno at age thirteen and didn't feel anything like what he did when the boy kissed him.

He had told Karin that he was gay many times, but she seemed to get the idea that she could turn him with her feminine wiles. More than once she tried to seduce him wearing clothes that could cover a coffee table better than it did her, and each time he forced himself to not throw up.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Suigetsu a couple hours, and a couple beers, later.

“Truth or Dare!” said Karin, look slyly at Sasuke.

So, began the game. Sasuke participated because he was bored and always chose truth over dare when Karin called him out because he knew that her dares would only serve to amuse her and humiliate him.

“Okay, Sasuke, who was your first kiss,” asked Karin. Sasuke glared at her. She probably only wanted to know to humiliate the person later on.

“Naruto Uzumaki,” he said and took a sip of his beer. He smirked when a moment later, Karin spat out hers. Suigetsu burst out laughing and even Juugo managed a smile.

“My idiot cousin?!” she squealed. “When?!”

“We were twelve,” said Sasuke. “We were arguing, a boy bumped into him and he kissed me.”

“That doesn't count,” she said.

“Yes it does,” said Suigestu.

“No it doesn't! Naruto...he...he...molested Sasuke with his lips! That's what he did! He kiss-raped Sasuke!”

“Kiss-raped?” said Suigetsu laughing. “That's not even a word.”

“Yes it is!”

“It's still a kiss,” said Juugo, watching the birds that flew by. Sasuke swears he would become an ornithologist after graduating. The guy really loved birds.

“No it's not! It's rape!” yelled Karin, as if defending Sasuke's honor, but Sasuke didn't have any 'honor' left to defend.

“Can we continue,” asked Sasuke before he lost hearing in his ear.

“All right,” said Suigetsu and the game continued. After a couple rounds, Suigetsu called Sasuke. “Truth or dare?

“Dare,” he said.

“I dare you to go to Tsunade's house and pick a rose from her garden.”

Juugo raised an eyebrow curiously as Karin exclaimed and Sasuke look at him in surprise. Tsunade Sannin was an elderly woman who lived in their neighborhood, but always denied her age. She likes to drink sake in place of water and has been known to have a temper when angered. She was also creepy at times and had been dubbed the Witch of the East Side because of her unusual ways. She also kept a garden of flowers and herbs that she grows in her back yard.

“What's so daring about that?” asked Karin.

“Given by how much she guards it, I think a single rose is enough,” said Suigetsu.

“Hn, fine,” he said. It was a dare. It's not like he could back out.

They drove out of the woods and parked a block away from Tsunade's house. They crept to the house with surprising stealth despite their drinking. They went around to the backyard where the garden was blocked by an eight foot high fence. Sasuke easily climbed it by having Juugo boost him over. Landing on the ground, Sasuke looked around.

Flowers and plants covered just about every space of the yard, half the size of Sasuke's, of course. At the center was a rose bush as vibrant as any found in a photograph. Walking up to it, Sasuke didn't think twice as he plucked one of the fully blossomed flowers. He winced when his finger was pricked and a bead of blood welled from the wound. A drop of blood fell onto the ground.

“Who the fuck is in my garden!” yelled a woman's voice. Sasuke froze for a moment before running toward the fence. On the other side, Suigetsu and the other two had left. Some friends.

Since they had taken Suigetsu's car, Sasuke had no choice but to leg it. Tsunade's home was located at the edge of the suburban area just outside of town, and since they were outside of town, there was a cemetery that had been there since before memory. Sasuke had been there several times for raves and hung out with friends, but this was the first time he had been to the cemetery alone at night.

It was easy to get into the cemetery. There was a tree that had a branch that overhanged past the brick wall. All Sasuke had to do was climb the tree and swing down from the branch. He landed on the floor in a crouch and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around. There was a full moon so it was easy to see. He walked among the stones, grumbling about his so-called friends. They bailed on him as soon as it looked like they were going to get caught.

He stopped when he heard a sound, like a sniffle, and turned toward the noise. He didn't see anyone even with the bright moonlight. Walking up a couple of rows, he came upon a boy his age with spikey blonde hair and wore an orange hoodie. He sat in front of two graves; MINATO NAMIKAZE and KUSHINA UZUMAKI. Both had died almost two decades apart with Kushina almost a week ago. He looked back at the young man. The spikey hair was familiar and he could only think of one person who would wear orange.

“Dobe?”

He gasped and turned to Sasuke. It was Naruto Uzumaki. He was a student at Konoha Public School, the Academy's counter part. Despite their similar roots, both schools have a fierce rivalry toward each other. Naruto and Sasuke especially had an intense rivalry as both were captains of the soccer teams.

Even after he graduated, he kept track of Naruto's progress on the field. He became an amazing player and captain. He somehow got the spirits up in his team even after what looks like a staggering defeat and they come back stronger than ever. Last Sasuke heard Naruto had gotten a scholarship to Konoha University. That had been a month ago.

But Sasuke doesn't see that loud mouth spirited young man. Tear tracks stained his cheeks and his nose was red from crying. Sasuke looked at the gravestone again. Kushina. That must have been his mother's name. Sasuke remembered a woman with long red hair who would always watch Naruto play and wish him luck, but she had looked too young to be his mother.

“What are you doing here, teme?” asked Naruto wiping the tears from his eyes.

Instead of answering, Sasuke placed the rose he still had on the gravestone and sat next to Naruto, about a foot away from him. Naruto looked at him in shock as Sasuke put his hands together in prayer.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Because she's your mother,” said Sasuke and turned to him with a smirk. “She had to have been stubborn to put up with you.”

That made Naruto glare at him.

“Teme!” he half shouted, not wanting the caretaker to catch him. Sasuke chuckled softly. He saw Naruto's gaze lower to his hand and looking down, Sasuke saw the cuts on his hand from the thorns. “You're hurt.”

“It's nothing,” said Sasuke, fisting his hand and turned away. Another hand took his and he turned to see Naruto wrap a handkerchief around his hand.

“Always a bastard, huh, teme?” said Naruto

Sasuke knew he should be offended. He didn't care about anyone really at school, too focused on graduating early and beating Itachi. He used anyone he could think of to accomplish his goal, uncaring about who got in the way. When he first met Naruto, all he saw was an annoying boy that got in his way. Now, strangely, he wasn't offended. He had been a right bastard.

“Thank you,” he said. “How did she die?”

“Cancer,” said Naruto. “Doctors said she wouldn't last three months. That was seven months ago.”

Sasuke didn't say anything. Really, what could one say in a situation like that. “I'm sorry” was a little pathetic. A person could be sorry all they wanted, but it couldn't bring the dead back to life.

“What are you even doing here, anyway?” asked Naruto. “And with a rose?”

“Would you believe I stole it?” asked Sasuke smugly.

“Actually, I would. I heard you became a bad boy recently. I'm surprised that Sasuke Uchiha decided to go one the wrong side of the law.”

“I have been known to dabble,” said Sasuke with a smirk.

“Still, I would have thought you would have given it to your girlfriend.”

“I don't have a girlfriend.” Naruto gave him a surprise look, like the thought of Sasuke not having a girlfriend was unthinkable. “I have many.”

Any other person would have thought he was serious, but Naruto saw the smirk and laughed. Sasuke gave him a soft smile before turning to the gravestone.

“I am sorry about your mom,” he said.

“Thanks, Sasuke,” said Naruto.

Both of them were silent as they kept vigil over the graves.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the long wait my computer crashed and I am working on getting the new one. I apologized in advance for any late chapters and if you wish to read any chapters I had posted so far, you can find them on FF.net under the user name of Yoko Black

Chapter   
By the time Sasuke returned home, it was close to dawn. The maids had just started doing the morning cleaning before breakfast, so his parents would immediately be notified of when he had came back. More than likely his father would burst into the room and start demanding where was and what he had been doing along with how he was tarnishing the family name, but Sasuke stopped caring about that long time ago.

Walking up the stairs, he started to head towards his room when the door to his father's study opened and he looked up to his father's face.

Fugaku Uchiha was a very stern man. There wasn't a lot that happened in his home or company that he didn't know about. When his son started rebelling, he tried everything to get him on the right path. Discipline, therapy, even tried to keep him from his so-called "friends", but everything he tried backfired. Somehow, Sasuke would escape any confinement Fugaku placed him in and return a week later from wherever he had gone.

"Where the hell have you been?" asked Fugaku as Sasuke continued toward his room.

"Out," said Sasuke not looking back at his father.

"With your so-called friends? When are you going to learn that those are not people you should be associating with?"

"And whom should I associate with, Father?" spat Sasuke looking back. "The Hyuugas, who you are trying to get a marriage proposal from, or the Naras with their pharmaceutical specialities?"

"They are better than the rejects you run to every day," said Fugaku. "At least we can get good business with them. What can your 'friends' bring you?"

"They can piss you off for one," said Sasuke with a smirk before turning to his room again.  
"Don't you walk away from me," yelled Fugaku. No doubt if his mother and brother were asleep they'd be awake by now. "I have tried to help you, but you refuse it at every turn. Why can't you be like your brother and do as you're told."

"Because I'm not Itachi!" yelled Sasuke turning back to his father. "I will never be Itachi! I have tried everything to please you; honor roll, top marks, valedictorian, science fairs, debate team, chess clubs, everything so that you could be proud of me, but no matter how many times I've come out on top, you compare me to Itachi. If Itachi was so perfect, why did you have me?"

Fugaku was so angry, his face was turning red in a matter of seconds.

"You have just proved why you don't compare to Itachi. He would never have this embarrassing emotional outburst or talk back to me. He would do anything it took to further gain the Uchiha name. You, Sasuke, are a disgrace to the Uchiha name!"

Sasuke immediately saw red. How dare Fugaku compare him to Itachi again, and say that to him. Everyone knew the Uchihas had their secrets, whether in their business or private lives, but only a few could find each secret if they knew where to look.

"You and I have very different ideas of what disgraces the Uchiha name, Father," said Sasuke.

Fugaku turned from red to purple and Sasuke didn't see the punch until he flew into the wall and slid down to the floor. He heard his mother and suddenly had arms around him.

"I want him out of this house!" yelled Fugaku. "I never want to see his face ever again!"

"Fugaku, don't do this!" yelled Mikoto, pleading with her husband.

"Father, stop," said Itachi as he helped Sasuke up from the floor. Sasuke barely heard any of it over a pounding head and ringing ears from hitting the wall and he felt a sting on his lip and knew it was split.

"No. I will not have a disrespectful son in my household!" he yelled. "I want him out in an hour. He doesn't take anything with him. He owns nothing."

Uncaring over the distress of his wife and oldest son, Fugaku went back to his study and shut the door. Mikoto cried with her hands over her mouth to muffle her sounds as she turned to her son's.

"Sasuke, don't worry," she said kneeling next to him. "I'll talk to him. He'll change his mind."

"Don't bother," said Sasuke wiping blood from his lip. "We both know he'll won't."

Getting up, he stumbled toward his room.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" asked Itachi.

"We all know he won't be out of that room until he has to go to work, and then he won't return until late," said Sasuke. " I have time. I'm going to bed."

He didn't wait for his mother's or brother's answer before closing the door. He went to his room's bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. As he thought, his lip was split and there was a nice bruise forming on his cheek, a cut from where his father's signet ring connected. There was no doubt it would scar.

Reaching into the cabinet, he reached past the towels and took out his first aid kit. Taking out a butterfly bandage, he taped his cut shut and used a towel soaked in cold water for his bruise. After he felt the swelling had sufficiently gone down, he threw the towel in a hamper and went to his bedroom, or former bedroom now that his father had kicked him to the curb. Right then, he didn't care. He wanted a few hours of sleep before crashing Juugo's until he found a place of his own.

He shrugged off his clothes and leaving on his boxers, he was out before his head hit the pillow.

XXXXXX

He looked around in confusion. He was in some sort of garden, roses covering every inch except for the path he was standing on. A mountain was overcasting the garden, but the sun shine brightly with minimal cloud cover. The perfect day.

Why was he in a rose garden?

Up ahead, Sasuke saw a figure bending over the roses, carefully cutting one from a branch and adding it to the pile in the basket. The figure was a woman, judging by her long blonde hair split into pigtails and she wore a green sleeveless shirt, khaki colored trousers and sandal high heels.

"Tsunade?" he said in surprise, recognizing the woman.

"I find roses to be the perfect symbol for a person," said Tsunade. "At first glance, you see a beautiful vibrant flower, but when you try to pluck it, you get pricked by its thorns." 

"Where the fuck am I," asked Sasuke angrily.

Instead of answering Tsunade set the clippers in the basket and took off her gloves before picking the basket up. She turned towards him and walked toward him.

"You're here to eat punished, Sasuke Uchiha," she said.

" Punished for what?"

"By your actions, many believe you are unworthy of redemption," said Tsunade standing in front of Sasuke. " They believe that you should be accurately punished for each offense."

"They who?" asked Sasuke, annoyed. "What the hell is going on?"

"I am here to give you your punishment," said Tsunade. "For the crimes you have committed against the people around you. Your family, your friends, everyone you have hurt throughout your seventeen years."

"I don't believe this!" Sasuke threw his arms up in the air in exasperation and walked away from the crazy old woman. He was on trial. For what? For being himself? Why should he be on trial for something like that. He turned back to her. "So you're punishing me for being myself?"

"I'm punishing you for being a vain, arrogant, selfish brat," said Tsunade. "I have seen your life, Sasuke, and I do not like what I see. You do everything you can to infuriate your father, your friends with hoodlums you know your father disapproves of, and you throw away the love of your mother and brother."

"They don't love me," said Sasuke. "They never did. I'm the spare, the reject. Someone who will never live up to their expectations."

Tsunade waved a hand and a fountain appeared next to them. She waved her hand again and the water rippled to reveal Mikoto arguing with Fugaku.

"Why must you treat him as insignificant, Fugaku?" asked Mikoto. "All he wants is your approval, but you spend more time with Itachi then you do your youngest son."

"Itachi is heir to the company and this family," said Fugaku crossing his arms and looking out the study floor to ceiling window. "It's natural for me to teach him all I know so he can take over someday. Sasuke knows this, so he shouldn't be acting out the way he does."

"He's a boy trying to gain the attention of his absent father! When was the last time you went to any of his meets or tournaments? Sasuke is as smart, or smarter than Itachi, and you don't want to see it."

"Sasuke will never be as smart as Itachi. His latest outburst is proof of that."

"He's a teenage boy," said Mikoto. Anyone could clearly see the irritation on her face as she looked at her husband's back. How could he be so nonchalant about their son who desperately needed them. "Emotional outbursts are normal for him, or do you not remember what it was like to be a teenager?"  
I do, and I was certainly more mature than that. Sasuke will never have what it takes to be a Uchiha."

"Enough!" yelled Sasuke hitting the water and turning to Tsunade. "I already know how my parents feel toward me. I don't need my mother's pity or my father's approval. I've grown out of those childish desires."

"What about your brother? You still don't know how your actions affect him."

"I don't care."

Tsunade waved her hand and the water ripple again. It showed Itachi standing next to Sasuke's bed as he slept. Sasuke was facing toward Itachi, completely asleep and softly snoring. The covers was kicked almost down to his waist and showed his bare chest and nipple piercings.

"What happened to you, Sasuke," he said softly. "What did Mother and I do to make you hate us so much? All we've ever tried to do was protect you."

Slowly he reached over and gently tucked the covers around Sasuke's shoulders.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

He walked out and softly closed the door as the water became clear again.

"Protect me?" said Sasuke confused. "Protect me from what?"

"Your father." Sasuke looked at her in shock. "All those fights your parents had late at night weren't just about you. He blamed her for your rebellion and deliquency. Your father's abusive. Not physically, but emotionally, which can be a lot worse than physical. At least those heal over time. Your mother and brother put themselves in the line of fire to protect you from him. They wanted you to grow up as normally as possible, and it worked, until tonight."

"That's impossible. My father is not abusive. There would be signs. I would have seen..."

"Seen what?" asked Tsunade. "Seen how tired your brother was after coming home from working a twelve hours at the office, with more work than anyone else in his department? Seen how depressed your mother is that she's taking anti-suppressants? You never wanted to notice so you never saw. Even when all the evidence is in front of you. You were too busy in your own self-pity that you never noticed."

Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn't think of a thing to argue against. It was true that he was so focused on his own anger that he didn't notice how tired his brother looked after coming home from work, sometimes hours after Fugaku who was always home before dinner, or how tired his mother was.

"Fine, so I've been a bad son," he said. "I'll just apologize."

"I'm afraid it's not that easy, Sasuke," said Tsunade. "I told you this was a punishment. There was talk of turning you into a frog. Permanently."

Sasuke looked at her in shock. Turn him into a frog? People did say that Tsunade was a witch, but he thought it was just a rumor.

"What's my punishment?" he asked.

"In light of recent events, we've decided to give you a second chance. If you prove yourself worthy, you'll be able to rejoin your family."

Sasuke looked confused. "What do you mean worthy? What are you going to do to me?"

"A second chance, Sasuke. That's what I'm going to do to you."

"Why?"

The water in the fountain ripple again and Sasuke saw himself setting the rose he stole from Tsunade's garden onto the gravestone of Kushina Uzumaki.

"Why did you give him that rose?" asked Tsunade.

"She was his mom," said Sasuke, stunned and confused. "She didn't have any flowers or any sign of anyone other than him there. It was...sad."

You still have compassion, let's just hope it's not a one time thing."

"What?!" asked Sasuke, shocked.

"You are being tested, Sasuke Uchiha. You will get a second chance to prove yourself honest, loyal, unselfish and compassionate. Only when you display these qualities will your punishment be lifted. If not, then you will remain this way for the rest of your life."

"Remain what?" asked Sasuke.

Tsunade just smiled.

"Time to wake up now," she said,and shoved him into the fountain.

XXXXXX

Sasuke opened his eyes, wide awake. The dream was still going through his mind even with his sleep ogled brain. Why did she say that he would remain if he didn't pass whatever test they had in mind. Remain what?

He did feel different, but he couldn't quite place it. Like he was forgetting something at the back of his mind and couldn't grasp it. He scoffed. That was stupid. He was Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't forget anything.

A knocking at his door made him jerk in surprise.

"Sasuke, it's after one," said Itachi through the door. "Dad's gone. You can come out now."

Sasuke groaned. He didn't want to deal with his brother right now, not after what he learned. He still couldn't believe it. How can he not notice his brother and mother were being abused? He was supposed to be smart and observant. Why didn't he notice?

Itachi knocked again and Sasuke groaned, only it sounded different to him.

"Sasuke, are you still in there?"

"Yes," said Sasuke, or he tried to say. Instead it came out as a cross between a huff and a bark. He sat up, or tried to. Instead he rolled off the bed and fell with a loud thud. The pounding got harder.

"Sasuke, are you okay?"

Sasuke shook himself and opened his eyes to look at his hand, or what he thought had been his hand. In front of him was a black paw that connected to black furry leg.

'What did that fucking witch do?!' yelled Sasuke, barking instead of using words. He ran over to his full length mirror and looked at himself.

In the mirror, instead of his human self, he saw a large black dog. A black German Sherpard if he could guess, but completely black. The only human quality he had left was his eyes. Brown but the pupils were still human. He howled in shocked.

'What the fuck did she do to me?!' he barked.

The door slammed open by Itachi, spooked by the noise on the other side.

"Sasuke?!" he yelled. Instead of finding his little brother, he saw a black dog.

Sasuke turned to his brother, barking.

'Itachi, look at what she did to me!' he barked.

"Did Sasuke sneak a dog in here?" asked Itachi. "Where is he? Sasuke?"

'Itachi, I'm right here,' barked Sasuke, trying to get his brother to understand him, but Itachi continued to look around for him.

"Sasuke, this is not funny, come out!" Itachi turned to Sasuke and started waving him off. "Get out of here, mutt. Get!"

'Itachi!' barked Sasuke as his mother came in. She screamed when she saw the dig.

"What is this dog doing in here?!" she screamed. "Where's my son?!"  
'Mom,' said Sasuke walking up to her, but she backed away.

"Get away, beast! If you hurt my son, I'll shoot you myself."

"Mother, I can't find Sasuke," said Itachi.

Makoto started crying.

"My son," she cried. Itachi went over and hugged her. "My boy!"

Sasuke walked over in an attempt to comfort her, but Itachi shoved him away.

"Go away!" he yelled.

Sasuke whined as he backed up, his ears laying against his head. They didn't know it was him, and they couldn't understand each other.

Hurt, Sasuke did the only thing he could think of. He ran.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

The howl of a dog sounded next to his ear and Sasuke shifted in his sleep. Growling, he turned to the culprit. The mangy mutt was new to the scene, so it didn't know to keep his mouth shut. Too used to freedom, it barked in protest at being caged. Its barking started a chain reaction to the rest of the dogs and all of them started barking, disturbing Sasuke's much needed sleep.

Lifting his head, Sasuke barked once sharply and all the dogs quieted. Snorting, he laid his head back down on his paws. Dogs were pack animals by instinct, and always obeyed the pack alpha. Sometimes, it was good to be on top.

A year ago, Sasuke had freedom. Sure, it sucked scrounging around dumpsters or hunting rabbits in order to survived, but at least he was free. He could roam wherever he had wanted and no one would have stopped him. He had a few close calls with animal control, but he had been able to outsmart them. He thought he would never be caught.

Until a year ago when a group of men cornered him behind his favorite dumpster behind a butcher shop and tranqed him before he realized what had happened. He woke up in a cage and a couple other dogs. Later, they were unloaded into a large abandoned building on the outside of the city with other caged dogs. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. They had just been recruited in the illegal dog fighting ring.

Sasuke had tried to escape plenty of times. He was still working on his next one, but the owner of the ring was a smart s.o.b. He had placed shock collars on all of the dogs so that if any of them got out of hand, they would only be able to go a short distance and the dog would immediately keel over from shock. Also, all of the guards were armed with tranq guns so that if any had escaped, they would be shot down and taken back to its cage.

What the owner didn't know was that Sasuke was smarter. Despite his canine appearance, he still had the brain of a human, and the adaptation of one as well. In the ten years since his transformation, he taught himself how to survive and adapted to every situation.

Sighing, Sasuke thought about the first few weeks after his transformation. Mikoto and Itachi had called the police and a two month manhunt had been underway to find him. Eventually, the police had given up and his mother and brother called in teams of private investigators and even posted rewards to anyone with any information about him.

Fugaku never once questioned Sasuke's disappearance. He was interviewed by several reporters and police officers, and each time he stated that Sasuke had been known to run off for days at a time and returned as if normal. After a year he barely acknowledged that he had a son named Sasuke. He ran his company with an iron fist and taught Itachi how to run the company. A month before his capture, Sasuke read of his father's death in the newspaper. According to reports, he worked himself to death, something Sasuke would have no trouble in believing.

Sasuke had hoped to return home then. He had hope to reconcile with his mother and brother, even if he remained in his canine form. A hope that had broken when he got captured and forced into the ring.

Sasuke tapped his tail on the cage floor in thought. He had to find a way to get out. Humans and guns he could outrun, but the damn shock collar was another thing. Over time the other dogs had figured out that they wouldn't get shocked if they stay within a certain range to avoid being shocked, but since Sasuke was smarter than the average canine, they kept the collar on him and caged to keep him from running off.

The owner of the fighting ring wasn't very smart, but he was smart enough to know that Sasuke was his meal ticket.

"All right, everyone, let's get ready," yelled the ringleader, a heavy set man wearing a three pieces expensive suit and a cigar nearly permenantly attatched to his mouth. He leaned down and blow a smoke ring into Sasuke face. "You're going to make me a lot of money tonight, aren't you, boy?"

Sasuke got up, turned around in his cage and presented his rear end to him before flopping back down on the floor. Gato laughed.

"You're a real stubborn one, aren't you?' he said. "Why you haven't broke yet is beyond me. Mizuki, why do you think that is?"

"Some dogs are like that," said Mizuki, the dogs caretaker. "Got a mean streak a mile long. Safer for everyone that he's in the cage instead of loose where he could possibly tear a person's arm off."

Gato laughed loudly.

"If he does, then we better have ringside seats," he said. "Get him ready for the ring. He's our champ, you know."

"Yes, sir," said Mizuki. Gato left and Mizuki smiled sinisterly at Sasuke. "Come on, boy. Boss man wants you amped up for the show."

Sasuke snarled as the human reached onto a table and picked up a needle syringe and a clear bottle. He didn't have to read the label to know what was in it. Another helper had a catchpole ready as another opened the cage. Sasuke didn't given them time for either. As soon as the door open, he was out like a shot. He ran around the table and cages, confusing the handlers until he ran toward the open door.

He was a foot away when a jolt of electricity shot through him. He yelped and snarled, shaking his head to get rid of the feeling. Not one of his brighter moments, but he wasn't about to let Mizuki stick the needle in him. One of the handlers got close and Sasuke used the only weapon he had. His teeth. He wrapped his jaw around the man's arm and bit down. The man screamed and fell to the floor with Sasuke on top. Sasuke felt several pricks to his rear but that didn't lessen his hold on the man's arm.

Sasuke may be a dog now with limited resources, but that didn't mean he would go down fighting. He'd find a way out of this hell hole and get back home. That was his last thought before he blacked out.

When he woke up again, he felt more alert than before. He growled. The bastard injected him. Another reason to tear his throat out. Looking around, he saw that he was in the starting gate. They were bringing him in first. It must be punishment for trying to escape. He also noticed that his collar was off. They always took it off for the fights, but they kept the tranqs on hand.

'So that's how they want to play it,' thought Sasuke as he shook off the last of the ketamine that had been pumped into his system along with whatever drugs they had given him. He heard Gato over the microphone as a handler stood by the cage, ready to open it and let Sasuke out after the introduction.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the terror of the alley dogs, the devil dog himself, Akuma!" yelled Gato and the doors opened. Sasuke sauntered out and growled at the surrounding audience.

'At least he gave me a decent name,' thought Sasuke as he turned to his opponent. A sniff brought a snarl to his lips. His opponent wasn't just a dog, but a wild dog. He had to watch himself. Wild dogs weren't really fighters in the wild, but when cornered, they had jaws that could break bone. They were also hard to domesticate unless from birth, which meant the trainer had this guy that long.

As the only intelligent canine in the ring, he felt he should warn the dog off, so Sasuke gave a "Back off or get hurt" growl, which the wild dog ignored. It snarled back at him, straining its muscles to get to Sasuke but waited until the signal like it was trained. Sasuke could see a lot of pain and anger behind it's dark eyes. Sasuke was surprised it didn't back off. Usually dogs were quite smart and could sense when their opponent was smarter or stronger than them and back away, but this one had a bone to pick and was going to use Sasuke to do it.

Sasuke sighed sadly.

'Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.'

A bell rang and the dog leaped toward Sasuke. Sasuke jumped to the side and shoved the dog, trying to assert control over him. Sasuke had found that the easiest way to end a fight with the least injuries, or casualties, was to show the dog who was boss, but this dog didn't seem to take the hint.

Instead of backing down, the dog twisted and clamped its jaws on Sasuke rump. Sasuke yelped and kicked the dog in the jaw to dislodge it and aimed his teeth at its neck. More forceful control had to be shown. The dog again twisted before Sasuke could do more than scrap his front teeth on the skin before it locked its jaws around Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke snarled in annoyance and did a very human move. He dropped to his back and kicked the dog off. It flew over Sasuke and landed against the fence surrounding the ring, falling on its side. Sasuke rolled back onto his back and faced his opponent, waiting for it to regain its senses and attack Sasuke again.The dog struggled to get up and face Sasuke. Sasuke knew it was going to charge again and prepared for it. He needed to end the fight quickly before the dog's heart burst from whatever drugs that were injected in the dog's system. By the way the dog was panting and the way it shook, Sasuke could tell that whoever owned the dog gave it an overdose and the dog was almost on its last legs. Sasuke would be doing it a favor by taking it down.

Like Sasuke had predicted, the dog launched at him and Sasuke did the same. Unlike the dog who had been going for Sasuke's throat, Sasuke shoved the dog mid-leap and both landed on the ground, the dog on its side and Sasuke on his feet. Sasuke opened his mouth for the first time since the fight started and clamped his teeth around the dog's neck. The dog struggled and twisted to get Sasuke off it, but Sasuke kept the dog down and snarled. Eventually, the dog's struggles died down and it lay on the ground, panting. When it did, Sasuke let go and the dog laid on its stomach submissively and Sasuke sat down on his hunches.

"What the hell are you doing?!" yelled Gato. "Finish it!"

Sasuke scoffed and turned away. He had thought about killing the dog, but he rejected the idea like he did every week when he was forced to fight. He didn't want to kill an animal just because it was forced into a situation that it didn't want.

Gato snarled infuriated at Sasuke before turning to his men.

"Shoot them both!" he yelled.

This time, the handlers held up actual guns, not the tranqs, and aimed them at Sasuke and the wild dog. Sasuke snarled and turned to Gato, getting ready to jump. If he was going down, he'd take the oversized toad with him.

Next thing he knew, the doors to the warehouse were thrown open and a voice over a megaphone yelled, "This is the police! Nobody move!"

Which was, of course, the worse advice anyone would give a group of criminals. Leaving the two dogs in the ring, the spectators scattered and Sasuke heard footsteps running after them. Turning around in the cage, Sasuke noted the only way out was by jumping the fence. Luckily, he had enough for a running start.

Stepping back until his rump hit the other end of the fence, he gave a running start and jumped the fence. He nearly cleared it but his back knees hit the top of the fence and he tumbled to the ground. He landed on his side, hitting his head on the ground first before the rest of his body followed.

Pain hit him, but only slight. Luckily for him, dogs had thick skulls. It would take a car crash for them to be knocked out. Scrambling to his feet, he ran toward the door. Now that his collar was off, it was the perfect chance for him to escape. Immediately, yells echoed around the warehouse as Sasuke dodged one officer or dog handler after another.

"A dog's loose!"

"Catch it!"

"Hurry before it escapes!"

Sasuke dodged around legs and catchpoles. Once, a catchpole looped around his neck, but he twisted and grabbed the pole before the lasso could tighten around his neck and yanked it from the handler's grasp. He shook the lasso off and ran back toward the door. An officer spread his legs and attempted to grab Sasuke, but Sasuke easily slipped under him and ran out between his legs. Really, did they think that because they looked intimidating would make him scared? It might have worked with a normal dog, but not with Sasuke.

With a doggy smirk, he ran out of the warehouse and ran down the street.

XXXXXX

"Well, Kyuubi, are you excited?" There was a bark from the back seat and Naruto laughed at his partner. "I can tell you're psyced. I am too. I love our job."

Naruto sighed sadly as he drove down the road.

"This might be our last job together, old man. The captain said you're getting too old, no matter how good you are. They're giving me a new partner and I'll have to retire you."A wet nose nudged his cheek and Naruto laughed as he reached behind him and petted his furry partner. Today would be their last crime scene together. The K-9 departement had decreed Kyuubi was too old to be a police dog and wanted to retire him to breed more police dogs. Naruto was against it, of course. Kyuubi was only six years old. He still had a couple years left on the force, but Kakashi said that it wasn't their choice and this would be their last run before he gets a new partner.

Naruto didn't like the idea of a new partner. He had Kyuubi since he had joined the K-9 unit and he was descended from his mom's first dog Kitsune. Kushina had been in the K-9 unit after Naruto's father died because she couldn't stand the thought of working with another human partner so she took the family dog and started training her. Since then, Kushina and Kitsune had became an infamous pair in the police and crime world, putting a lot of criminals away and took down a lot of drug rings.

By the time Kushina had gotten sick, Kitsune was already nearing retirement so they allowed her to stay with Naruto and his mother in the final months. She had already had several puppies by then and were going to be trained as either police or service dogs by the Inuzukas. A week after Kushina died, Kitsune had left and was found the next morning by the cemetery grounds keeper. She died curled up on Kushina's grave. She was buried in a pet cemetery specialized for police dogs.

Kyuubi looked exactly like his grandmother, right down to the red fur and the black tipped tail. When he had been born, Tsume Inuzuka doubted he would live because he had been so small and malnourished, but Naruto didn't care. He took Kyuubi home, raised him and trained him to became one of the best police dogs on the force.

Now, Kyuubi would have to retire. How was he going to say goodbye to his best friend? How was he supposed to do that?

Out the windshield, Naruto could see the lights of the police cruisers surrounding the warehouse that was their destination when he felt a tug on his head and he reached behind to swat Kyuubi in the nose.

"Kyuubi, what have I told you about tugging my hair?"

Kyuubi growled in disagreement and grabbed a tuff of Naruto's hair and tugged. Laughing, Naruto reached around and shoved him away.

"Get off, you big galoot," he said

He turned back around just when a black shaped jumped out in front of him. He slammed both feet on the brakes but it was too late. His cruiser hit the animal before either had time to stop. The dog, for that was Naruto found out that it was, flew ten feet down the street and rolled two more. Putting the car in park, he threw the door open and ran out.

"Shit!" he cursed loudly. "Shit, shit, shit!"

A summer at the Inuzukas gave him basic canine biology. He immediately knew that it wasn't one of the K-9 dogs because it was only him and Hana there to check for drugs and Haimaru wasn't all black. That meant he, for Naruto had checked for gender and saw that it was male, was either a stray or a fight dog. Naruto hoped it wasn't the latter. He was unconcious at the moment, and by the multiple cuts and scrapes, Naruto hoped he didn't have internal bleeding.

"Hana!" he yelled, calling for the other police dog handler. "Hana, I need some help!"

Hana ran over and looked the dog over. Haimaru went over to Naruto's cruiser to greet Kyuubi.

"Broken front leg," she said. "Two broken ribs, possible a fractured third, and I don't even want to know about its insides."

"Can you save him?" asked Naruto almost in tears. The thought that he could possibly have killed a creature was tearing him up.

"If we get him to the clinic," said Hana, "but the unit..."

"Yeah," said Naruto sadly. He wanted to save the dog, but he had a job to do.

"Go on, Naruto."  
Naruto looked up to see his department captain, Kakashi Hakate, standing next to him. His English bulldog Pakun, more mascot than police dog, stood next to him.

"Kakashi-sensei?" said Naruto confused.

"We only need one dog," said Kakashi. "Get that one to the clinic and let Kiba take a look at him. Maybe we can save it."

"Yeah," said Naruto with a grateful nod. A lot of police dog handlers don't believe that dogs in fight rings were worth saving, but it was regulation to give each dog a chance. He turned to Hana. "Hana?"

"Tell my brother not to make a mess of this one," she said with a smile. "I think it's okay to move him, but gently. We don't know if his neck is broken or not."

Naruto nodded. Gently, both dog handlers lifted the massive dog from the ground toward Naruto's cruiser. Kakashi got Kyuubi out of the back seat and into the passenger side so that Hana could set the dog onto the back seat. They secured the dog with a seatbelt and Hana even wrapped a blanket around it's body to keep it from shock.

"You sure it's okay?" asked Naruto before getting back into his cruiser.

"Go on, Uzumaki," said Kakashi. "We'll be all right here."

"Just let me know what happened," said Naruto as he got into his cruiser and took off toward the city.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

When Sasuke woke, his entire body felt heavy and he ached everywhere. It was a dull ache, like it was either old or someone gave him painkillers. Even breathing hurt. He attempted to test his paws on if they were broken and softly grunted when his back right leg flared. It was broken. He had enough broken bones in the past to know what one felt like. He also suspected a concussion based on the throbbing of his head.

The last thing he remembered after escaping the warehouse was running across the street and then intense pain. He hadn't been shot since he hurt in more than one places, so possibly a car hit him. Just what he needed. He escaped the hellhole just to be hit by a car. Fate clearly loved him.

He heard the sounds of other animals around him, so it was probable that he was in a veterinary clinic. It took a while to even open his eyes. When he did, the first thing he saw was the bars of a dog cage. He was definitely in someone's dog house. Taking a deep breathe, he smelled aniseptic, other animals and citrus. The last was an odd smell for a veterinary clinic. An air freshener maybe?

At least it was better than the fight ring. He could tell that it was no hole-in-the-wall, low budget clinic. The walls were a pristine white and the cage he was in was clean. The food in the dish left in the cage didn't have mold or smell funny and the water was clean. All he needed to do now was wait until he was healed and escape of here.

He heard the door open and the citrus smell increased.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Sasuke turned and huffed in surprise. Standing infront of him in a horrid orange muscle shirt wearing the biggest smile Sasuke had ever seen was Naruto Uzumaki. He was holding a brown paper bag in one hand. He was also the source of the citrus smell.

Naruto had changed some since Sasuke had last saw him ten years ago. He filled out from the skinny gangly dork to muscles nearly ripping out of his shirt. Sasuke didn't know what sport he was playing to get that much muscle, but it wasn't soccer. The wide stupid grin was still the same and he still had the same six whisker like scars on either side of his face. Sasuke never learned how he got those. The jeans he wore did not hide his well shaped thighs as he bent down infront of Sasuke's cage. Sasuke didn't think his mind could take how the blonde's rear looked.

A secondary scent was coming off him under the citrus and Sasuke wrinkled his nose. He didn't know Naruto was a dog person.

"Sorry about last night," said Naruto sitting crosslegged on the floor outside of the cage. "I'm the one who hit you with me car."

'Who the hell taught you how to drive? The devil,' thought Sasuke, since he couldn't speak out loud.

"My dog was kind of distracting me, so I didn't see you," continued Naruto, obviously not hearing Sasuke sarcasm. "But I've brought you some goodies as an apology. I made them myself."

'So, they're poison?'

Naruto grinned as he reached into the bag and pulled out what looked to be a cookie. He carefully reached toward the cage to give it to Sasuke.

"Naruto!" Naruto jumped, dropping the cookie in the cage accidently, and spilling half the bag on the floor. Both human and canine looked up to see a man with brown hair, brown eyes and two fang like tattooes on both his cheeks glaring at Naruto. He was wearing a white lab coat over a blue shirt and blue jeans.

"What have I told you about sticking your hands in cages?!" he said.

"He's not going to bite me, Kiba," said Naruto.

The name instantly registered to Sasuke. Kiba Inuzuka, he was the youngest son of the Inuzuka family famous for breeding and training police and military dogs. With the money they made, he could have gone to Konoha Academy with Sasuke, but instead he went to school with Naruto and both were best friends.

"He's a fight dog," said Kiba. "The only thing he knows how to do is tear a creature's throat out. I don't want you added to the list."

Sasuke snorted.

'It's not like I volunteered.'

"Stop it, Kiba, he can hear you," said Naruto. "Besides, it's not like he volunteered. He might be nice."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in surprise. Did he actually just say that? Sasuke nice? Like that would ever happen.

"I'm gonna adopt him!"

Sasuke yelped in surprise as Kiba's mouth dropped open.

"Are...are you crazy?!"

Sasuke would have to agree with the dog-lover. Why would anyone want to adopt a former pit dog? Not that Sasuke would, but he had seen what a fight dog could do to the human body. Gato had a Rottwieler that he kept close to starving to terrify his dealers, or tear apart opposition or people he believed betrayed him.

He did try to use Sasuke, but no matter how much Gato starved him, Sasuke never attacked any human being. He may have been starving close to death, but he never harmed anybody. If Naruto had made that declaration about any dog other than Sasuke, the blonde would possibly become seriously injured or dead trying to domesticate any fight dog.

"Naruto, you can't domesticate fight dogs," said Kiba. "At least not ones that have been fighting as long as he has. Look at his scars."

Sasuke didn't deny that he had a lot of scars. It was impossible to be in any physical confrontation and not get out unscathed.

"But look at him, Kiba," said Naruto. "Is he acting like any dog that just got out of the pit? He's not growling or snapping at the bars. He's just watching us."

"That's because he's heavily sedated."

Sasuke had to disagree. The sedatives were wearing off and the pain in his ribs and legs were increasing. He didn't make a sound though. One thing his father taught him that stuck was to not show anyone how in pain he was. Inside, he boxed the pain away in the corner of his mind. Putting it off until he could get an extra dose of sedatives.

"There's something about him, though," said Naruto turning back to Sasuke and looking at him. "I can't put my finger on it. It's almost like he's watching me. Waiting for me to make a move."

'Put one in the idea jar. The idiot actually thought of something,' thought Sasuke.

"Naruto, I know you're upset about Kyuubi, but you can't replace him with the first dog you see," said Kiba.

Sasuke had a momentary curious thought on who Kyuubi was but shook it off. It made no difference to him who Naruto hung out with.

"I'm not replacing him," said Naruto. "But I hate to just kill an animal off without giving him a chance. I know what that's like."

Naruto said the last part softly, and Sasuke didn't miss the sadness in the tone. Why would Naruto feel sad about being alone? At the school games, he was always so loud and boisterous, getting the attention of everyone around him. It only made sense that he had a lot of friends, but why would Sasuke be getting an air of loneliness from him.

"Naruto, you know I'm more than willing to give a dog a second chance," said Kiba, "but this one, there's something off about him. I don't trust him."

'Point to the mutt."

"Than trust me," said Naruto pleading.

Kiba looked at his friend and groaned. He never could win argument when Naruto pulled out the puppy-dog look. Not many people could.

"Fine, but he's your responsibility," said Kiba. "I don't want you to blame me if he bites your hand off."

"He won't," said Naruto happily. "Thanks, Kiba!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Kiba walking back out. "I'm fucking going soft."

Naruto smiled and turned to the dog.

"Hear that, boy! We're together now."

'Great, just what I needed. An idiot for an owner.'

"Now I just need to name you," said Naruto and paused in thought. Sasuke prayed it wasn't some stupid oximoronic, cliché dog name like Spike or Fido. That was the last thing he needed.

"You know, you kind of remind me of a guy I know. He was the most arrogant annoying prick I ever meet, but he was also the most honest guy I had ever meet."

Sasuke looked up, curious. Was the idiot talking about him?

"According to the papers, he just disappeared one day," said Naruto. "I mean, I know the guy was a dick, but even he's not that heartless. He would have called his family or something. He's not dead, I know it."

Sasuke looked at him in surprise. Naruto was talking about him. He never though that anyone would believe in him after all this time. He thought even his family had given up on him. There was hardly anything about him in the newspaper anymore. He had heard that Itachi had kept a hotline open in case there was any information on him. There was even a reward. Sasuke didn't want to know how many times a day the phone rang.

"I'm helping them find him." Sasuke looked at the blonde in shock. "I know it's impossible. The guy was a genius so he could easily become a ghost if he wanted to, but he was my first friend. When everyone else ignored me or hurt me, he was the only one who treated me as a person. Sure, he degrated my intelligience and everything, but he didn't make me feel bad about myself. He pushed me to be better. It's because of him I'm here today."

Sasuke put his head back on his paws. He never considered the blonde as friend. An annoyance, yes, but never a friend. He didn't like how easily Naruto trusted people or how easily he could make friends. Like Sasuke, he had been captain of his soccer team, and everyone in the city knew about the rivalry between the two schools, and especially of the two captains. Sasuke wanted more than anything to beat the blonde knucklehead and he had a few times, but then Naruto had beaten him more times than that.

"Can't call you Sasuke. That's too weird."

'Why not? It's my name, idiot,' thought Sasuke.

"How about..." Naruto thought for a moment. He wasn't very original when it came to naming pets, which was why he named Kyuubi after the legendary fox from his favorite story. Looking at the dog, he saw his completely black coat. Not one speck of white in his fur. It reminded him of Sasuke's hair. Black as night.

"Kurogane."

Sasuke looked up at the man and mentally shrugged. It was better than Butch that was for sure. Gato wasn't bad at the naming department, but names like "Akuma", "Yoru", and "Shinigami" were not really original for fighting dogs.

"Well, you're not growling, so I guess you like the name," said Naruto with a grin. He then looked at the feeding tray thoughtfully. "What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?"

Sasuke was actually starving, but he wasn't going to eat Kibbles&Bits. He maybe a dog, but he would never eat like one. Plus he wasn't really interested in eating anything the blonde prepared.

"Hold on. I'll be right back."

Naruto got up off the floor and ran out of the door. Sasuke watched him leave before snorting. That idiot can't stay still for two seconds. He hoped whatever job he got was enough to tire him out at the end of the day. Even as a teenager, the man was a bundle of energy that never seemed to run out.

Naruto returned a minute later unwrapping a sandwich. Taking the complete sandwich, he reached through the bars and set the meal on the cage bottom. Sasuke looked at the idiot. Kiba was right. This guy had no common sense at all. Only someone either completely trusting or suicidal would put their hand in a cage holding a wild dog.

But Sasuke was hungry, and the sandwich looked good. He took a small bite of the bread and chewed.

He paused in surprise. The sandwich was actually good. The meat tasted hand carved and there was some sort of dressing. He was surprised because all throughout the games, Naruto always talked about his love for ramen, instant or freshly made. For him to eat anything other than that was surprising.

Naruto grinned like an idiot.

"Good, huh?" he said. "One of my exes was a chef. He got tired of me eating instant meals all the time and taught me a couple recipes. Strangely enough, I actually got into it and became a better chef than him."

Sasuke was surprised anybody would date this oaf, let alone a guy. He was a little surprised Naruto dated a guy. He always bragged about wanting to marry Sakura Haruno, the prettiest and smartest girl in the Konoha District. Sasuke guessed he finally grew out of the childish fantasy and started dating in the real world.

Absently, Sasuke wondered if he was dating anyone now. Probably that Kyuubi guy they were talking about earlier. Weird name for a guy, but then so was Naruto.

"Then he left me for his culinary instructor. Love sucks."

So single. Sasuke doubted that he would jump into a relationship after that.

"That's why I love dogs so much. They're uncomplicated. Just give them some food and loving, and they're loyal for the rest of their lives."

Sasuke scoffed. Not this dog. He was perfectly happy with his freedom. As soon as he was healed, he'd escape the first opportunity he got.

"Now that Kyuubi's retired, I don't know what I'm going to do," continued Naruto. "He's been my partner for ten years, before I joined the academy and the K-9 unit. We trained together, made the perfect team. Now the stupid captain says he has to retire because of his age. Doesn't matter that he's the best damn drug-sniffing dog on the force. Better than even Kin Tsuchi and her dog Senbon. Girl brags about her dog like no tomorrow, but they hardly bring anything in."

The conversation had just gotten interesting. Kyuubi was his dog. He had never seen Naruto as a dog person.

"I was going to show him in this years K-9 Dog Show, but with a new partner, I need to train with it before I can place it in the show, and that'll take at least a year."

Sasuke had finished the sandwich and looked up at Naruto, and was surprised to find Naruto looking at him.

"I know you won't be a K-9 dog," said Naruto almost sadly. "I can see that you have too much pride to be owned by anyone. Probably escape as soon as you're healed."

Sasuke was surprised at the statements Naruto was giving. It was like he could read Sasuke's mind, or maybe he was that in tuned with a dog's mind. Either way, it still didn't change Sasuke's mind on leaving.

"Still, nothing's impossible, right?" said Naruto smiling at him. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

Sasuke had a sudden feeling of deja-vu ten years ago and his body shivered.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sasuke stretched his leg and stiffened when he felt the pain shoot from his body. It wasn't the first time he had gotten seriously injured in the ten years he had became a dog, and it wasn't the first time he had gotten hit by a car. The first time it had happened, he was sure he was dying. It hurt to breathe and a bone had been sticking out of his leg. The driver had left him for dead in the ditch he had landed in and drove off. Sasuke had lain there for hours, waiting to die, but miraculously, he healed and woke up a few days later as good as new.

Sasuke never went out of his way to experiment his new healing powers, but it did seem that the worst the injury, the faster he healed. After a week, the bruises were already gone and his ribs mostly healed. He guessed another week until he was able to breath without stabbing pain. His leg was a different story. He overheard Kiba and his wife, Hinata, that it all of the bones had shattered, so it would be a while until he healed, even with his freakishly fast healing.

He looked around the kennel he was staying in. It was comfortable since Naruto "adopted" him. He placed a blanket on the flooring and gave him a sort of meatloaf whenever he visited, which was daily. Sasuke didn't mind the attention, but held do without the goofy attitude that his new "owner" had.

Sasuke didn't stay all day in the kennel of course. Sometimes, they would put some sort of wheel device on him and take him out for a walk with the other dogs that were recovering. The other dogs ignored them as they played and rumped in the dirt. Sasuke ignored them as well as he exercised his front legs and looked for a way to escape once his leg healed.

The worst part about being in this infernal places was the boredom. On the streets there was always something interesting going on, so he was always entertained, and he would scrounge the garbage for a newspaper to keep up with the news.

Here, aside from outside, he wasn't allowed past the kennel room unless they were giving him X-rays and checkups. Kiba, his so-called doctor, acted more dog than human and would be lucky to hold a conversation with his wife, but his blundering was entertaining to a idiotic degree.

Sasuke laid on his head on his paws as he looked around the veternary kennel. Even in the dog fights he was never this bored. He would ask for a book, but he didn't want anyone to start calling him Einstein or something equally as stupid. He'd never be able to live that one down.

"Hey, boy." Sasuke looked up to see Naruto walking into the kennel. The idiot still visited him, as if it was required since he "saved" Sasuke and all. "I thought you might be bored so I brought you something. I think you'll like this one."

He held up a book and Sasuke groaned at the title. The Watchers by Dean Koontz. Somebody hated him.

XXXXXX

"I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem is, Naruto, that you adopted the demon dog of the fighting ring," said Ino.

"Stop calling him 'the demon dog'. He has a name."

"Kurogane." Ino scoffed. "Not very original."

"It suits him."

He looked around the table to the rest of his friends in hopes of someone helping him, but they were all silent. Sakura Haruno, their medical examiner, looked down at her salad while her husband Rock Lee slurped some sort of green concoction. Shikamaru Nara looked away from the computer he was typing on and his wife, Temari, just looked at him. It was only half of his friends. The rest were in different departments but they got together once a week for games or to just hang out. Sometimes, they would bring their kids for a playdate and Naruto would bring Kyuubi. They would have a lot of fun and Naruto would get to keep childhood friends.

"What's so demonic about him?" asked Naruto after a minute of silence.

"One of the handlers that had been arrested said the dog nearly took his arm off when he was trying to get the dog into its cage," said Temari.

"Of course he did," said Naruto. "They were abusing him."

"Naruto, we just want you to know what you're doing," said Sakura. "Impulsively adopting this dog might be the worst decision you've ever made."

"Or the best," said Naruto. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"Well, I agree with Naruto-kun," said Rock Lee. "Everyone does deserve a second chance, Sakura-chan, or else you wouldn't have married me."

Sakura sighed. That had been true. Everyone knew that Rock Lee had a huge crush on Sakura ever since middle school, but the strawberry blonde didn't give the boy the time of day. It had been only seven years ago that Sakura decided to try and date Rock Lee. Rock Lee had tried to get over his crush on Sakura and date other girls, but none seemed to get his eccentricities. No one knew how Sakura does, but the woman doesn't seemed too bothered by her husband's random acts of strangeness.

"Thank you, Lee," said Naruto.

"We just want to make sure you're thinking this through," said Temari. "Right, Shikamaru?"

"If you ask me, arguing about it is too troublesome," said Shikamaru. "You all know that once Naruto makes a decision about something, you can't change his mind. He learns from his mistakes, so we just have to watch and wait."

"Thanks, Shikamaru," said Naruto. "I guess." He turned to his friends. "Look, I know you're worried, but I have a feeling about this dog. He almost seems intelligent. I don't want to throw something like that away. I can't let them kill him. I just can't."

"What if it attacks you," asked Ino. "It is an attack dog."

"Maybe, but he hasn't attacked me. I've handled him a couple of times. He never hurt me. Looked more annoyed than anything though."

"Are you crazy, Naruto?!" said Sakura in shock. "That thing can hurt you!"

"He never even tried to hurt me, Sakura-chan, and stop calling him a thing. He has a name."

"It doesn't matter," said Ino. "What does matter is that you're trying to kill yourself."

Naruto set his fork down and stood as he packed up his lunch.

"You know, I thought that as my friends you would understand, but I guess I was wrong."

"Naruto..." started Sakura as Naruto left.

Naruto walked out of the cafeteria and back to the K-9 grounds. Kakashi was going to introduce him to his new canine partner and he wanted to get it over with.

Most people didn't know the connection between human and canine. It was similar to partnering with another human, but deeper. Dogs will stay loyal to its trainer, not because they were trained to, but because of mutual respect. You take care of them and they took care of you.

They reasons why Naruto wanted to adopt Kurogane were his own, and his friends couldn't see that. They didn't want to see the caring dog behind the scars and the mean gleam in his eye. The one time he asked his friends to visit Kurogane with him, they vehemently refused. So far, Kiba and Hinata were the only ones that near the dog without being forced.

Naruto actually came to like Kurogane. There was something about him that was familiar. He just couldn't place it.

Naruto walks into the K-9 department and immediately was greeted by the barking of dogs. Each one in a cage was either a trainee or a dog without a partner. Each of different breeds and had different methods of training. Usually, dogs stayed with their human partners but there have been cases where a dog would stay in the kennel, either because a spouse or child was allergic or because their apartment didn't allow dogs.

Luckily, for Naruto, that had never been a problem. He lived in the house his parents had bought and were going to move into when they married. Apparently, his parents were thinking big picture because it had three bedrooms. When Naruto was born, one became his room while the other became Kitsune's then Kyuubi's room. Even after the death of his mother, Naruto loathed changing his mother's room, but he finally moved everything out after two years and made his old bedroom a guest room.

Naruto wondered what had been up with Kakashi. He had been anxious lately, and only someone who really knew Kakashi would be able to see it, and since Kakashi mentored Naruto during the academy and training Kyuubi, Naruto knew Kakashi pretty well.

Naruto walked up to Kakashi standing next to a cage. The dog in the cage was a Malinois and was tail-wagging on the other side of the cage.

"Naruto, meet Hachiko," said Kakashi.

Naruto knelt down in front of the cage and held his hand out for the dog to sniff. Hachiko did and started licking Naruto's hand through the bars.

"What did you want to see me about?" asked Naruto. "I know it's not about a new dog, or else you wouldn't have wanted to be here."

Kakashi laughed softly, adjusting the eyepatch over his eye. He never talked about how he lost it, sore subject, Naruto guessed, but Naruto knew that it was personal.

"That ring we busted a couple weeks ago was only a small fry," said Kakashi. "The bigger ring is still going. Their main focus is of course, narcotics and dog fights. We need someone inside to get the big fish."

Naruto looked at him in shock.

"You want me to go undercover?" he asked.

"Yes." Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, I know I shouldn't be asking you this, but I don't know who else to trust. These people are always a step ahead of us. That last bust was either lucky or..."

"Or someone taking out the small fry," said Naruto.

Kakashi nods.

"The leader is a fan of fight rings, human and canine, mostly human. We managed to get some info on Gato on how they contact their spectators for each fight. We're hoping to put an opperative in the fights and get closer to the boss."

Naruto looks at the dog in the cage.

"With him?" he asked. "You want him to fight in the pit?"

"What's wrong with him?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto straightens and looks over at Kakashi seriously.

"Well, he looks like a puppy," said Naruto. "I'm sure he's been specially trained for this or something, but no one in those rings are going to take me seriously if I walk in with a pup fresh off its dam's teat. I need a dog that not only can pass for a fight dog, but also one I can trust."

"Kyuubi's retired, Naruto," said Kakashi. "According to regulations, he can't go back into the field. You need a new dog or transfer to another department."

Naruto sighed and thought for a moment. He didn't want to switch departments. The K-9 unit was his life. It had been ever since he could remember. He mother taught him everything he needed to know about taking care of dogs, training them, and spotting a fight dog from across the street, and there was nothing more that he would rather do than work with a dog and take out bad guys.

But he couldn't do it with that dog. He was sure it had been very well trained for this operation, but he couldn't take Hachiko into the fight pit. Fighting dogs were more than just trained as attack dogs. They had a look in their eyes that told people what they were. Hachiko looked too innocent to be taken seriously, and an expert trainer would spot that in a second.

Kakashi watched as Naruto thought. The boy had the blood and training of two of the best detectives in the city. Kushina taught him everthing he needed to know about fighting crime since he was in the cradle and friends from both parents taught him how to fight and shoot. He had the look and recklessness of his father but his mother's intelligence. Naruto took track to keep in shape and karate in self-defense. Since infancy, the only goal the boy had was to be a great police officer like his parents, and he was slowly achieving it.

Now he was watching Naruto achieve his goal. Kakashi couldn't be prouder of the young man.

"What about Kurogane?"

Kakashi looked at Naruto in surprise.

"Your new dog?" he asked.

"Yeah. He's already trained as a fighter dog, and he'll pass any trainer's inspections. He has experience. More than six month old Hachiko."

"Naruto, the point of rehabilitation is that the victim does not go into the same situation. Taking back to the fighting ring is the opposite of that."

"I can train him," said Naruto. "I can train him to not be a fight dog and be a police dog. I know I can do it."

"Naruto, we can't just take a dog from a known fight pit and make him a police dog."

"But he'd be perfect. I'm tell you, Kakashi, he's smart. I walk him around with the other dogs, and he doesn't fight them, even when they are fighting each other. He can do it. I know he can."

Kakashi sighed heavily and thought. It was against regulations to use dogs that had been in fight rings. The probablility of the dog attacking officers or innocents were too high. That was why they used specially trained dogs during raids or taking down suspects. They were easier to control and could stop an attack on demand.

But what Naruto peeked his interest. It would be a different way to take down the ring. Any cop they tried to take inside were immediately spotted and taken out. They thought that a different approach was needed, hence the dog fights, but if what Naruto suggested could work, then the posssibility of them getting a man inside would be easier.

"Three months," said Kakashi. "I'll give you three months after his injuries healed, and I'll be supervising. I don't want this to go belly up. I'll talk to Narcotics about your little experiment, and if they give it the okay, then we'll do it."

Naruto jumped Kakashi and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!" he said. "I gotta go tell Kurogane."

He ran out of the door before Kakashi could say another word. Shaking his head, Kakashi looked at the cage.

"Sorry, boy," he said.

Hachiko whined.

XXXXXX

Sasuke looked up as the door opened and Naruto walked in. he carried a brown bag that Sasuke knew held a meatloaf that Naruto cooked up just for him. It hadn't taken long for the vets and Naruto to figure out that Sasuke refused to eat the dry dog food that was served to the recovering canines and even turned his nose from the wet canned dog food. The only thing he did eat was the food Naruto brought him. Sasuke wouldn't admit, even if he could, that he liked the food Naruto cooked. He had always heard that the man had an obsession with ramen when he was younger. Sasuke guessed that he had grown out of it.

"Hey, boy," said Naruto opening the cage. "Kiba said we'd get that cast off you soon and into a brace. Doesn't that sound great?"

It did. Sasuke couldn't wait to get back on his feet and back onto the streets again. He had spent the last four weeks doing nothing but watch dogs chase their tails and act like complete fools for the attention of people. Soon he'd be able to get away from this place.

"Kiba said I'd be able to take you home then," continued Naruto. "You won't be able to go upstairs yet, but I can put a doggy bed in the living room."

Sasuke groaned. Bad enough Naruto thought he "adopted" Sasuke, now he thought he'd take Sasuke home. Could his life get any worse?

"Gato escaped. Kakashi wanted me to go inside the dog fights. Even assigned me a specially trained dog to take with me."

'Good,' though Sasuke. 'Maybe then you'd leave me alone.'

"So I asked him to assign you instead."

Sasuke looked at him in shock.

'You did what?!'

"I figure you'll have a few week in the brace, but we'll start your training as soon as we get you home. I'll teach you how to find drugs, explosives, people. I already know you got the attack thing down, but we'll tweak it a bit."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in shock. Was he crazy? There was no way Sasuke was going to become a police dog. He was a stray, and nothing tied him down.

"If I don't, then I think Kakashi is going to put you down."

Sasuke snorted.

'Let him try,' he thought.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Sasuke walked around the house. He couldn't say it was to his tastes, but it was a place to rest while he regained his strength. The brace had been taken off a week ago and his leg was now wrapped in an Ace bandage. With it he walked stiffly, but Kiba had exercise as he could without collapsing. Because of the cast, his leg near atrophied and he needed to build the muscles back up.

Sasuke had another reason. He wanted to regain his freedom. Naruto had talked about using him as a ploy to get into the dog fights. Sasuke wanted nothing to do with them anymore. He didn't care about the dogs or if there were drugs. It had nothing to do with him.

He looked around the living room. He still couldn't believe how it was decorated. It was like a woman had decorated it. Sasuke did hear that it used to be Naruto's mother's house, so he shouldn't be surprised that he kept some of her things, but the place looked virtually untouched. There were one or two items that he could see Naruto owning, like the newest action movie or a video game, but most of the items were kept.

Sasuke remembered Naruto ten years ago, sitting at his mother's grave and trying to keep from crying. Sasuke still couldn't figure out the reason why he gave the rose to Naruto. When he told his answer to Tsunade, he had been truthful. It was sad to lose a parent. When Sasuke heard of his own father's death, he was sad. Fugaku wouldn't have been winning any father of the year awards, but he was still Sasuke's father. He went to the funeral and watched from afar as Itachi and Mikoto lead the precession.

His leg twinged and he resisted the urge to whine. Kiba had stressed that Sasuke take it easy on his leg, but Sasuke ignored it. Despite his quick healing, the leg was slow to heal. Sasuke couldn't figure out why. He had broken bones before, and they always healed up within a day. Now it was taking months.

He turned back to the dog bed Naruto had placed on the living room floor. He couldn't climb stairs yet so he couldn't go to the "dog room". He was shocked to find out that Naruto had made a room for his dog. Kyuubi may be old and retired, but he still had the energy of a puppy. A perfect match for Naruto.

Sasuke laid down on the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable. Naruto had bought it at the pet store Kiba's father own with a family and friends discount. Naruto even padded it with a blanket. He was always thinking of things like that.

Speaking of Naruto, he should be waking up soon. Idly, Sasuke wonder if Naruto was going to make his spicy frittata. Sasuke was surprised to find that the blonde could cook. Looked like Naruto found something to else to stuff in his face other than ramen.

He heard a door opening and another door closing. Naruto was doing his morning ritual before making breakfast. The bathroom door opened and Naruto walked down the stairs yawning. He wore a bright orange shirt and black boxers. He scratched his head lazily as Kyuubi followed down the stairs behind him.

"Hey, boy," said Naruto, greeting Sasuke as he walked into the living room. "Did you have a good sleep?"

'I slept better than you,' thought Sasuke as Naruto knelt next to him. At least he did pet him. Sasuke barked at the last person who tried that. 'What kind of police officer sleeps until seven thirty when they have the morning shift?'

Sasuke had been awake when Naruto walked in at three in the morning. The man looked beat and barely made it up the stairs to his room before Sasuke heard the telltale snores. Since Naruto didn't have a canine partner yet, Kakashi had him on deskwork until Sasuke was medically cleared for work.

"How about a frittata today?" asked Naruto getting up. "Then we'll take our walk."

Sasuke groaned. For the past week, Naruto had been taking him to the the park to train while Kyuubi stayed home. The grandson of a neighbor, Konohamaru, walked Kyuubi every evening for some extra money since Kyuubi's retirement two months ago.

"You'll get that bandage off soon too," said Naruto. "Isn't that great?"

That was the only possitive thing about this arrangement in Sasuke's opinion. He only had another week to put up with the bubbling blonde.

Slowly getting to his feet, Kurogane followed Naruto into the kitchen. Naruto first gave Kyuubi a can of premade dog food, which the red retriever eagerly ate. Then he started making his and Sasuke's breakfast. Naruto learned notlong after meeting Kurogane that the dog wouldn't eat anything packaged or canned. So, Naruto began cooking Kurogane's food with his own. It was actually gratifying, making food for someone other than himself, even if it was his dog.

Naruto made the frittata for himself and Kurogane and ate. Despite being a dog, Kurogane ate with the patience of a human. Kurogane was a mystery, which was one reason why he adopted the dog. When he first visit after nearly running him over, instead of barking up a storm he seemed to study his surroundings and seemed to have an almost intelligence behind his brown eyes. Naruto wanted to learn why Kurogane was unlike any dog he had ever seen.

Naruto finished his breakfast and washed both his and Sasuke's plates. Sasuke refused to eat from a dog bowl. Naruto went to find his shoes. He always lost the second one and it would take him ten minutes to find it. Usually under the couch or the chair.

"Where is it?" said Naruto looking under the couch for the third time. This time with a flashlight.

Sasuke snorted. No wonder the blonde has a tracker dog. He needed one just to find his shoes. Gingerly getting to his feet, he walked to the bookcase and pawed behind it. How it had gotten behind there, he could only guess. He snorted against the smell of old sweat coming from it and barked toward Naruto. No way was he putting that in his mouth.

Naruto looked up and grinned.

"How did you know where it was," said Naruto walking over and picking it up.

'Because I could smell it,' thought Sasuke as he watched Naruto put his shoe on and pick up Sasuke's leash.

"Come on, boy," said Naruto.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before walking over to the blonde. He allowed Naruto to clip the leash on him and followed him out of the apartment. Kyuubi ignored their departure for the food.

Sasuke stayed beside Naruto as they walked. He didn't really need the leash, but he didn't want to be caught by the dog catchers. He wasn't going to let that happen again.

Coming into the park, Naruto took out his music player and put on earphones in his ears and Sasuke's heightened ears could make out "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse playing through the tiny speakers. He didn't know Naruto liked that kind of music. It was certainly different than what he thought.

They jogged around the park for almost a half hour before they ran into someone they knew.

"Naruto, hi!"

Naruto turned to the voice and smiled.

"Hinata-chan! Hi" said Naruto turning to his friend. She was pushing a stroller with a small white dog jogging beside her. Naruto crouched beside the stroller. "Hello, Himawari-chan!"

The toddler babbled. Sasuke sat on the ground and waited for Naruto to finish talking to Hinata so they could continue their walk. He needed to strengthen his leg. The puppy was tugging on the leash attatched to the stroller, too energetic to stay still long enough for Hinata to talk. The stroller tugged forward with it as it barked at the joggers and dog walkers around them.

'Stupid dog,' thought Sasuke and snorted a laugh.

"How is Kurogane doing?" asked Hinata.

"He's doing okay, but he's got a stubborn streak. He keeps trying to walk up the stairs even though he knows he can yet," said Naruto. "Luckily, the wrap comes off soon."

"Yes," said Hinata with a nod.

Sasuke listened to all of this with half an ear. The rest of it was on the puppy as it tugged on the leash, nearly toppling the stroller. Last thing Sasuke wanted was a crying baby. The screeching would hurt his ears. Sasuke barked a warning and the puppy immediately stopped. Naruto and Hinata looked at him worried.

"Are you sure he's safe?" asked Hinata worried.

"He's hasn't attacked anyone yet," said Naruto. "Maybe he doesn't like energetic puppies."

'Give the dope a medal,' thought Sasuke.

"Kiba's worried that you were too impulsive in adopting him."

Naruto rubbed his head laughing.

"Maybe, but I have a feeling about this one."

"I hope you're right, Naruto-kun."

Sasuke tuned out the rest of it as he watched the toddler. She could have been no more than a year old and was reaching toward Sasuke determiningly. Sasuke just sat next to Naruto and stared out at the park. The toddler started to whimper and Sasuke fought a groan. Both humans didn't notice the baby's actions.

'I don't cuddle, kid,' said Sasuke.

Tears started to fall as the baby whimpered, reaching toward Sasuke. Sighing, Sasuke moved closer to the stroller and allowed the baby to fist his fur.

'Just don't get snot on me.'

Himawari giggled as she pulled on Sasuke's fur. She grabbed it with both hands tugged for Sasuke to move closer, but the canine stayed right where he was. The toddler lean forward and buried her face in Sasuke's fur.

'Dope, the brat's getting snot in my fur.'

"Will you look at that," said Naruto looking down at his dog.

Both turned to see Sasuke standing perfectly still as Himawari played with Sasuke's fur, and Sasuke not protesting. He gave Naruto a pointingly annoyed look.

'You are giving me a bath later,' he said.

"That dog doesn't let anyone touch him without growling, not even me," said Naruto.

"We had to sedate him just to get him in the brace," said Hinata in awe as she watched her daughter play with the black dog.

'I'm still getting you back for that,' said Sasuke.

"It's strange though," said Hinata leaning down to look more closely at Sasuke.

'Hey, back off, Hyuga!'

"What is?" asked Naruto.

"His eyes seem almost human."

"He does?" said Naruto leaning down to look at Sasuke's eyes.

'Dope!' Sasuke growled silently.

"I don't see it," said Naruto.

"Well, there difference is subtle, but I swear they look human to me," said Hinata.

"Weird," said Naruto.

They talked a couple minutes about Sasuke's next appointment before Naruto continued on his jog. As they jogged, Naruto looked down at Sasuke.

"Why did you let Himawari-chan touch you, Kurogane?' he asked. "You barely let me."

'Because you're not a baby that'll blast my eardrums with her screeching,' thought Sasuke.

"Well, let's get you a bath before work," said Naruto and they started jogging back to the house.

The bath consisted of Naruto pulling out tub and filling it with water. Sasuke jumped in and rolled around the water to get really wet and allowed Naruto to scrub shampoo on him. Bathing was the only time Sasuke allowed Naruto to touch him. When Naruto was finished and washed the suds off. Kyuubi jumped in as soon as Sasuke stepped out and shook the water off him.

"You're more snippy than Ino," said Naruto as Sasuke shook himself.

'Unlike you, I know how to get clean,' said Sasuke flicking his tail at Naruto and sending large drops of water at the blonde. Naruto laughed as the water hit his face.

"Hey!"

"Naruto!"

Both man and canine turned to they yell and saw Sai standing at the fence. He wore mostly black and had a backpack. Naruto laughed.

"Sai!" he said jumping up from the ground and ran over to greet his friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you're still on for Friday," said Sai leaning against the fence. Sasuke glared at him in annoyance.

'Who's this guy?' he asked. Sasuke knew some of Naruto's friends from high school since they were also on the soccer team, but he had never met this one before.

"Duh," said Naruto. "I wouldn't miss it."

Naruto had met Sai on his first day on the force, which also happened to have been his first crime scene. Sai was taking pictures for the evidence file and both struck up an instant friendship.

Sasuke watched the interaction between Naruto and the new guy. Sai leaned against the fence while Naruto stood in front of Sai, their faces inches from each other. He didn't like the familiarity both seemed to have with each other, and he especially didn't like the tight feeling in his chest.

"Is that the new dog you were talking about?" asked Sai nodding to Sasuke.

"Yep," said Naruto happily, turning to Sasuke. "That's Kurogane. Hey, boy, come say hi to Sai."

Sasuke scoffed. 'Not on your life.'

Sai laughed.

"Wow, he's got an attitude," said Sai.

"Yeah, reminds me of this guy I knew."

Sai laughed louder.

"That's sad when a dog reminds you of a guy you knew. Ex-boyfriend?"

Naruto shook his head and looked away with a sad look in his eyes.

"No, just someone."

Sai nods in understanding. He suddenly smiled with an idea.

"Hey, want me to take a picture with you two together?" he asked.

"Yeah!"

'No.'

Sai took a camera out of his bag as Naruto ran over to Sasuke and sat as close to the canine as he could without getting bitten.

'Dope, I'm mostly wet! I'm not having my picture taken after a bath!'

"Smile!" said Sai.

Sasuke turned just as the flash went off. Sai smiled at the picture.

"I think that's pretty good," said Sai showing it to Naruto.

"Hey, that's pretty good," said Naruto. "What are you doing taking pictures of crime scenes?"

"To catch bad guys same as you," said Sai. "I better go. I'll send you a copy."

"Yep!" said Naruto and waved Sai off.

Sighing, Naruto turned back to see Sasuke giving him a look.

"What?" he asked.

Sasuke scoffed and turned away.

Why did he have a sudden urge to rip the throat out of a man he had just met?both Naruto and that guy were too familiar with each other. There was no evidence of a boyfriend and Naruto never mention liking anyone. Sasuke knew because Naruto had a habit of talking to his "pets", although Sasuke thought that was a habit for any pet owner.

Before turning into a dog, Sasuke thought that owning a pet meant the person was lonely and wanted some sort of companionship in their lives. It was one of the reasons why he never owned one. Another was that Fugaku never could stand animals.

After living with Naruto, he noticed that although the blonde lived alone, he wasn't completely alone. He had friends that visited on a regular basis, and he went out at least once a week. He watched them interact saw the difference between Naruto's friends and his former gang. They genuinely care about each other. Suigetsu and Karin didn't even have that with him. Juugo might have, but the teenager had been so soft spoken that no one really knew what was on his mind.

It got him wondering, did he even really have friends or were they using him for their own gain?

Walking through the doggy door, he walked into the living room and curled up on his bed to rest his leg. Naruto would take him to the police station in a few hours and they would start training.

He couldn't wait to get the brace off.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"That's it, Kurogane! Go, go, go!"

If Sasuke could smirk, he would have. Naruto lead him through a series of obstacles in the K-9 training yard. Since he had the brace taken off a week ago, Naruto had been training him to become a drug sniffing dog, going lightly on the exercises, per doctor's orders. Personally, Sasuke wanted to do harder exercises, but Naruto controlled what Sasuke did on the training field.

All around him, other dogs trained in different obstacles, each one professionally handled by their humans and each not making a sound as they did. The captain of the department was a man by the name of Kakashi Hatake and his canine partner was a pug. Pakun was an unusually quiet dog and never barked at anything that didn't annoy him. Sasuke found the little dog an annoyance simply by the smug look on it's face.

Not far from the course was a woman that bore a surprising resemblance to Kiba. Complete with the tattoo fang markings on her cheeks. Her canine partner Sasuke swore was part wolf, it was the size and figure of one, and watched the other dogs with a cold look. What was also surprising was the scar that ran down the dog's right eye. Somehow, the eye had been spared, but the scar gave the animal a mean look.

The other trainer that caught Sasuke's eye was a woman with ridiculously long hair held back in a ponytail. Next to her was black German shepard, sitting perfectly still as if he had nothing better to do. That had to be Kin Tsuchi and Senbon. Sasuke had heard Naruto complain about that pair more than once, which was odd for the blonde. In the month he had been living with Naruto, the blonde seemed to get along with everyone, except for Gato and an ex-boyfriend, but according to him, Kin was a bragger. She would brag about how man perps her canine partner had taken down and how easily he complete courses. Even now, she was retelling how she and her dog had caught a rapist to a disinterested officer. Naruto was right, she was a bragger.

There was something about the woman that was familiar to Sasuke. She didn't look familiar, but she smelled familiar and Sasuke couldn't place it, which annoyed him. Uchiha's had excellent memory. They never forgot anything if it was important.

Sasuke had been coming to the training field for two weeks, and he had his cast off for a week. Naruto had moved his bed to the doggy room and he was going on walks longer. He was planning on leaving soon. Getting rid of the collar shouldn't be hard. Leather expanded when wet.

He felt an ache in his chest. It happened every time he thought about leaving Naruto. Why he would feel sad about it, he didn't know. Naruto was the loudest, most annoying person he had ever met when he was high school, but now the blonde seemed to have toned down his hyperactiveness and volume.

"Good job, Kurogane," said Naruto after Sasuke finished the course and gave Sasuke one of his homemade cookies. It was just to keep from getting hungry. Not that he liked them or anything.

"New record, Naruto!" said Hina who was timing them. "I don't think Kyuubi did that well."

'Because Kyuubi couldn't stick his head in the toilet without a treat being in the bowl,' thought Sasuke.

"I have to say, Naruto, Kurogane is coming along faster than I thought," said Kakashi walking up to the pair. Sasuke smirked with pride.

"I told you, Kakashi," said Naruto looking down at Kurogane. "He's smart."

"A dog is only as smart as his owner," said Kin. Naruto turned an annoyed look at her. "Which means he's not very smart at all."

Naruto's face burned red and Sasuke growled softly. Nobody called an Uchiha an idiot.

"Where did you even get that dog?" she asked looking at Sasuke. "It looks like something that belongs in a dog pound."

"Shut up!" yelled Naruto, stepping toward her. All thought of his mother telling him not to hit a woman first went out the window."How dare you..."

Kakashi grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Easy, Naruto," said Kakashi. He turned to Kin. "You know the rules, Kin. You got a problem, take it up on the course. Naruto has been working hard with Kurogane. You should know better than to smack talk someone else's training."

Kin shrugged. "Only saying the truth."

Naruto moved toward her again when he felt something tug on his leg. Looking down, he saw his dog have a hold of his pant leg. Dark brown eyes look up at him with a slight annoyance, but also an eerie calm. He again saw that spark of awareness.

Sasuke had grabbed Naruto's leg to keep him from attacking the woman. In the years Sasuke had seen Naruto before transforming into a canine, he had heard Naruto be insulted on more than one occasion, sometimes several times a day, but not once did he raise his voice or his fist in defense of himself. One day when he was talking with Neji whose father was business associate of Fugaku, he told of when Naruto pummeled a bully's face in for making fun of Hinata's stutter.

Sasuke had learned a lesson about Naruto that day. Don't make fun of his friends.

Sasuke walked around Naruto and growled at the woman. He really didn't like her. She insulted him. He may have a dog's body, but he was still human, and he knew a challenge when he saw one.

Kin looked at the dog with a frown. Did the canine actually think it can hurt her? She had been around the most vicious dogs man could ever raise. Not one scared her.

"I think you've got yourself a challenger," said Kakashi looking between the dog and the woman. Kin laughed.

"Like that dog can challenge my Senbon," she said laughing.

"Afraid?" asked Naruto with a smirk. Sasuke snorted with a soft laugh. Really, that would be something he would have said.

"I'm not afraid of losing to a man and his mutt," said Kin. "I accept."

Kakashi nodded.

"Clear the course!" he yelled. "We've got a challenge."

Murmurs went through the trainers as they moved their dogs to the sides of the field. Sasuke could hear them making bets on who would win. He didn't like that the favor went to Kin.

"All right," said Kakashi when the obstacle course cleared. "You all know the rules. The first canine to complete the obstical course with the least amount of time wins. Dogs on the marks."

Naruto unclipped Sasuke from the leash. One of the rules was that the dog was unleashed during the challenge. It made it more interesting. Naruto looked Sasuke in the eyes.

"You can back out, Kurogane," he said. "You don't have to do this."

Sasuke huffed. 'Yes, I do.'

Sasuke walked to the mark. Kin had Senbon by the collar, the black dog already itching to go. Naruto stood beside Sasuke, waiting for the signal.

"Get set," said Kakashi. Senbon tensed next to Sasuke. Sasuke just waited. "Go!"

Both dogs took off. The crowd cheered for their favorite. Sasuke and Senbon jump through the truck tires first before climbing up the stairs. Passing that, they jumped over a small five foot long pond. Sasuke was slowly gaining the lead, especially when he was the first through the tube. Then he came to the wall.

The wall was only three feet high, but he could easily jump through it. He was getting ready when he felt a sharp pain in his flank and he yelped, which angered him. Uchiha's didn't yelp. He missed the jump and collided into the wall instead of going over it. Senbon jumped over.

Sasuke growled. The bastard canine cheated. Backtracking a bit, he jumped over the wall and charged toward the dog. Senbon was nearing the end of the course which was a row of hedges as Sasuke caught up. Both dogs jumped over the five hedges and stopped nearly at the same time.

"Photo finish," said Kakashi holding up his phone, recording the entire challenge. He replayed the ending to determine the winner. "And the winner is...Kurogane, by a nose."

"Whoo-hoo!" yelled Naruto, jumping up and down estatically. Beside him, Sasuke gave a wolfish grin."We won! We won! I'm buying the first round!"

The crowd cheered, except for Kin who left with a huff. Senbon followed after her. He ran over to Kakashi and held out a hand.

"Give," he said.

Kakashi groaned and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out a twenty and handed it to Naruto.

"He's getting better," said Kakashi. "Training faster than I thought. You might just win our bet."

Grinning, Naruto stuffed it in his pocket before turning to Sasuke. Taking out his bagful of treats, he gave Sasuke one before handing one to Hana and she gave it to her canine partner. There as a crackle over the P.A.

"We have a raid in progress. K-9 unit needed on scene."

"All right, everyone, let's go!" yelled Kakashi. Everyone immediately grabbed their dogs and ran inside to gear up, even Naruto. "Not you, Uzumaki."

"But..."

"Kurogane's not a registered K-9 yet. Until then, he can't be on scene."

"But what if it's Gato?" asked Naruto.

"Then we'll take care of him. Train your dog, Naruto. We've got this."

Kakashi turned and left the training yard. Naruto stood and watched as his captain and mentor left with the rest of the unit.

It felt odd to be left out. All his life, Naruto wanted to be a part of something, which was why he wanted to join the police force. It wasn't just because of his parents. The police force had always made him feel as a part of a family. On days when Kushina couldn't find a babysitter, she would take Naruto into the station and the desk sergeant, Iruka, would watch him while Kushina went on patrol.

Iruka was like a father to him, always bringing him coloring books or video games to entire himself or help him with his homework. And sometimes books for him to read. If it hadn't been for Iruka, Naruto was sure he would have never passed high school. He always joked that Iruka should have been a teacher instead of a cop, even started calling him "Iruka-sensei." That gave him a couple cuffs to the head, but he knew Iruka didn't mind.

Now, he was left behind. He knew it couldn't be helped, but it still gave him a stab of loneliness at being left out of taking down a criminal. Especially if that criminal was Gato. The thought of what he was doing to dogs disgusted Naruto. He had grown up to respect his canine partner, not use or abuse them.

Sighing, he looked down at the canine beside him.

"Hey, boy, how about a game of Hide-and-Seek?"

'You mean the game where you hide the drugs and I find them?'

Grinning, Naruto lead Sasuke back to the training ground. Sasuke followed.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Okay, you two be good, now," said Naruto to his two dogs as he walked out the door. Walking to his beat up red truck, he started the engine and drove out onto the street.

Every week, Naruto and his friends gather to a local bar near the police station, The Lillypad. It was owned by Jiraiya Sannin, Naruto's godfather and the closest man Naruto had to a grandfather. Him and his wife were the ones who took care of him in when his mother had gone to work and when she had died. He was supportive of Naruto's goal and even helped him train and study during his academy days. He opened the bar when he retired from the force, but it was mostly to support himself since his novels weren't as popular as he makes them out to be.

When he arrived, most of his friends were already there. Sai was saving him a seat between himself and Kiba. Sai saw him first and waved him over.

"Naruto, over here," he said.

"Hey, guys," said Naruto walking over to the table. "Where's Ino?"

"She's got a major court date tomorrow and she's reviewing her notes," said Sai.

"She'll be fine," said Naruto. "She's one of the strongest women we know."

"Yeah," said Sai.

"Hey, Naruto," said Kiba. "We heard that Kurogane passed his test."

"Yeah," said Naruto proudly. "With flying colors. I told Kakashi I could train him in just three months. He had the basic training already, and he's smart. I knew he'd get it quick."

"It usually takes a year to train and officiate a dog, doesn't it?" asked Neji. Neji was on Vice and while they regularly used dogs on their raids, he never handled one himself.

"Yeah, but Kakashi made a special exception with me." Naruto didn't say it was because they needed Kurogane to uncover Gato's hidden drug and dog fight ring. If he did, he was more than certain that Sakura would have a fit and Kiba would try to hog-tie him in a corner.

Over the past several weeks of training, Kurogane had displayed more and more signs of intelligence that he had never seen in any dog. At times he swore it was almost human-like in nature. He would locate items Naruto misplaced too easily, and Naruto had a nasty habit of misplacing items. He even put the keys to his car in the fridge. How Kurogane found them in there Naruto never knew.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked Sakura. Naruto was amazed that she actually got out of the Medical Examiner's office to see him. Last he heard, she had been swamped by three murders and a suspected murder/suicide.

"Wherever Kakashi sends me," said Naruto. "I can't wait to bust up some bad guys again."

"You sound as excited as a kid at Christmas," said TenTen.

"It is inspiring to see Naruto wish to fulfill his dream of being a law enforcement officer," said Lee.

"Okay, who gave Lee alcohol?" asked Kiba and the group laughed. It was an ongoing joke on how Lee could not hold his liquor. On his wedding, Kiba and Choji thought it to be a good idea to bring copious amounts of alcohol and share it. Lee only had one shot of tequila and was dancing the bar stripping. Sakura had a field day with the guys that day.

"You just be careful out there, Naruto," said Sakura. "I worry about you enough, I don't want tosee you on a slab in my morgue."

"Yes, Mom," Naruto said with sarcastic humor and ducked to avoid the fist aimed at him head.

"Jerk!" she said in a soft huff and took a sip of her fruity drink. For the next couple hours, Naruto listened as the parents in their kids. When the music turned upbeat and that perked Naruto up.

"Come on, Hinata, let's dance!" he said grabbing her wrist and pulling the blushing woman onto the dance floor. Kiba gave no protest. He rather have her dance with Naruto than some stranger. The gang watched as the two danced to the music.

"Are you sure he's not crazy?" asked TenTen. "I don't know much about dogs, but trying to rehabilitate a pit dog..."

"It can't be done," said Kiba. "Trust me on that. Some trainers may be able to get them domesticated enough to possibly be a house dog, and that could take years. As a K-9 dog, not likely."

"Then how is Naruto so sure?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know, but Hinata said something strange the other day."

"What did she say?" asked Lee.

"She told me how she met Naruto and the dog at the park, and the dog let Himawari pet him."

The girls gasped as the men looked in shock.

"Is she hurt? Is she okay?" asked Sakura, worried.

"She's fine," said Kiba. "The dog actually sat there and let Himawari play with his fur, like she does with Akamaru. But that wasn't the really strange thing."

"What was?" asked Neji.

"She said his eyes looked almost human."

That got the group stumped. How can a dog's eye looked human? Was there a difference? But what was also strange was hearing the way the dog acted around the toddler. Kiba had explained pit dogs to them and the near impossibility of their rehabilitation, so to hear that one was letting a two year old grab its fur and slobber all over it was very strange indeed. The friends didn't know what to make of that.

Naruto meanwhile, was having fun dancing with Hinata. The shy raven haired girl was usually such a wallflower unless dragged on the floor by either Naruto or the girls. Kiba sometimes managed to get her to dance, but usually obeyed his wife's wishes and stayed on the sidelines.

Naruto remembered Hinata from when they were kids. As the hieress of a large company and prostigious family, both six year old shouldn't have been able to meet, but Hinata's sudden kidnapping brought them together. It had been Kushina and Kurama who had found Hinata and brought her to the station. Naruto had been playing with one of the trainee dogs at the time and showed Hinata how to pet one. For a half hour they had been playing all sorts of games with the dog until her parents came for her.

They reunited again at the age of twelve when Hinata had joined her school's cheerleading squad in an attempt to socialize more and accompied them on their soccer teams away games. They talked between and after games and exchanged addresses and phone numbers.

Their friendship grew and they reunited again in college, where Naruto introduced her to Kiba and everything progressed from their. Naruto had known of the crush that Hinata had on him, and wasn't surprised when she confessed, and shot him down in the same sentence. She had figured out his sexual preference and wished him happiness. Six months later, she was dating Kiba and the rest was history.

Naruto thought of Hinata as a sister and treated her as such, and all of his friends knew it. Kiba never had to worry when Naruto danced with her or teased her in his friendly prankster way. It was his way of getting Hinata to join in and help get over her shyness.

He was also very protective of her. After her abduction, her father had signed her and her younger sister up for several martial arts lessons and excelled in all of them. Even though she had several black belts, she avoided violence as much as possible. She only had to use her training once, and Naruto was glad for it.

They danced on the floor and laughed at the ridiculousness of their moves when a man stepped behind Hinata. Despite her over shyness, she was a pretty woman and would easily get the attention of any man in the room, so it infuriated Naruto to see the man leering down at Hinata like she was a piece of steak.

"How about dancing with me than that guy,babe," he said with a sneer.

Naruto grabbed Hinata and pulled her behind him and glared up at the man.

"She's married, asshole," he said.

"See no ring on your finger, so it ain't with you," said the man with a lusty laugh. "Guess she's not too in love with her hubby."

"Actually, her hubby's behind you," said Naruto with a sneer. The man turned to see Kiba, Choji, Neji, Lee and Sai standing behind him. "And the man behind him with the long hair giving you the stink eye, that's her cousin, and this is a cop bar, and you just challenged a cop so..."

The guy looked around and saw that almost every patron was staring at him. He immediately figured out what a bad decision he made and backed out, but not before he gave Naruto a murderous sneer.

"Bastard," said Kiba glaring at the man's back.

"Asshole," agreed Naruto. He turned to Hinata who looked a little shaken, but luckily not scared. "You okay?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "I'm sorry."

"Not you're fault," said Naruto. "Guy was an asshole who didn't know what 'Off limits' meant."

"Come on, babe," said Kiba, "let's sit you down."

Hinata nodded and followed Kiba back to the booth. The rest of the guys followed, except Sai who turned to Naruto.

"You coming?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm going to get some air," said Naruto. "Save my seat?"

"Yeah."

Sai turned back to the booth as Naruto wove through the dancing crowd toward the door. Walking to the side of the builing, he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall.

Naruto hated comfrontation. He'd just as soon go without it, even on a raid. Most people thought that the K-9 unit didn't see any action, but that wasn't true. They saw as much as any other police officer. Their dogs were trained to not just search for drugs and explosives, but also to take down a suspect if needed. There were even corpse dogs that found dead bodies.

Naruto had trained Kyuubi to do all of those things. It helped to have a canine that was diverse. He could only train Kurogane in the basic of drug sniffing. The black dog already had the basics of attacking down and all that Naruto had to do was teach him to do it on command. Kurogane was surprisingly a quick learner, which Naruto had suspected.

He didn't know what was so different about the dog. He was a surly and stoic as any human being. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that Kurogane was a human in a dog's clothing. There was no way a dog was that smart.

He heard a clatter and turned to see the man he had chased off standing in the front of the alley. He groaned. This guy was either drunk or stupid, or both. The worst idea ever made was to assualt a cop outside of a cop bar.

"Hey, man, whatever you're thinking, not a good idea," he said.

"I hate being humilated, especially from upstart punks like you," said the man.

"Oh, punk, haven't been called that in a long time," said Naruto. "Look, I'm just giving you a chance to back out now."

That was the last thing Naruto said before the man charged him.

XXXXXX

Sasuke watched as Naruto left, sitting next to the couch. Unlike Kyuubi, he refused to lay on the couch like an insipid lap dog waiting for treats and attention.

He actually didn't mind Kyuubi. The older dog was getting on in years and spent most of the dog sleeping. The only time he was awake was when he was eating or going for his walk. He never bothered Sasuke since Sasuke never bothered him. Sometimes during their walks when Naruto played with them, Kyuubi would try to play with him as well, but Sasuke never participated.

The only problem Sasuke had was at night. Although they had seperate beds, Kyuubi would climb into his and sleep on top of him. That annoyed Sasuke to no end and every time he tried to push the older dog off, Kyuubi would growl and nip Sasuke's ear. Sometimes, Sasuke would be able to roll the canine onto his side.

Sasuke swore most of the dog's personality came from association with the blonde. Like Naruto, Kyuubi loved to play and would often try to include Sasuke in his games. Most of the time he was unsuccessful, but sometimes, Sasuke would join in just to throw suspicion off. It would look weird if a dog did not play Fetch or Tug-of-War with another dog in a dog park.

Now was the perfect opportunity to escape. Sasuke had been watching Naruto over the past couple of weeks. Aside from work, Naruto stayed mostly at home. Except for every Friday when he would leave to hang out with friends.

And Sai.

Sasuke didn't know why the thought of Naruto and Sai together made his fur brissle. It was no business of his who Naruto decided to spend time with. They never went out, nor were they friends. They were rivals and that was it.

Although, they did look close the other day when Sai came over, and what kind of person carried a camera around randomly snapping pictures, especially of their "friends"? Was he a stalker? There was something off about him, and it wasn't just his fake smile.

Sasuke shook that thought out of his head. It was none of his business. Right now, he had to think of a way to escape. Getting up, he walked over to the front door. Like every time he left, Naruto locked the front door, but only the deadlock. Sasuke knew he could probably reach it thanks to his height and probably unlike it, but the problem was the doorknob. It wasn't a long handled one, but a turn knob. He might be able to do it if he used his teeth.

Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to close the door after opening it. He didn't think that Kyuubi would run off. That dog was too loyal for his own good. Naruto had left the door open mulitple times, and Kyuubi never went outside unless ordered to by Naruto.

Sasuke was actually surprised by this. Depsite his personality, Naruto was a pretty good dog trainer. His mother probably taught him everything she knew and he picke dup a couple of tips from the Inuzukas. Looks like he wasn't as much as a dope as Sasuke first thought.

Walking up to the door, he reared up on his hind legs and placed his paws on either side of the door. Using his claws, he turned the bolt down and turned his attention to the doorknob. Opening his mouth as wide as he could, he used his teeth and whole mouth to turn the knob and smirked when he heard it click. Still on his hind legs, he walked backwards until he had it opened enough to slip through.

Finally, he was free, he thought as he ran down the street. He wasn't too worried about the collar. He'd find a way to get rid of it. It was a basic fabric collar, so get it wet and he could easily slip out of it.

Taking a deep breath, he exalled in his newfound freedom. After a year stuck in a cage and six months in domestication, he loved the ability to go wherever he wanted whenever he wanted. He wasn't too worried about Naruto. He had Kyuubi and Sasuke was sure the department would assign him another dog to portray a fight dog. He may not look it, but Naruto was smart. He'd figure it out.

Sasuke shook his head. Oh God, he just gave the moron a compliment. The world was coming to an end.

For hours, he walked, not really caring where he went, he just let his feet go wherever they wanted, so it came as a surprise when his nose came upon a familiar citrus scent.

Naruto was nearby. He doubted anyone else would wear that scent. Before he realized what he was doing, he walked toward the scent and found himself in an alley beside a bar. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and was surprised by what he saw.

Naruto was struggling against another guy who was obvious bigger than him. What the hell did Naruto do to get himself into trouble this time. And by the look of him, he wasn't fairing too well.

Sasuke gaped in shock when the man picked up a discard beer bottle and broke it against the dumpster. He barked and the man turned around, as did Naruto.

"Kurogane?" said Naruto in surprise.

Before his mind could tell his body not to, Sasuke ran toward the man and knocked him aside. The man managed to get a cut into Sasuke's leg and he cried out from the shock of pain. Landing on the ground, he held his injured leg up as he turned back to the man and growled. The man raised the bottle to stab him.

"Fucking mutt!"

He slashed down and Sasuke waited for the pain to come, but it never did. A black blur pushed in front of Sasuke and blocked the man's attack. The sharp copper scent of blood filled the air.

"Don't touch my dog!"

Sasuke looked up to see Naruto standing in front of him. The blonde glared at the man in front of him. The scent of blood was coming from him.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke barely heard Kiba's yell as he watched Naruto collapse. Blood covered Naruto's sunset yellow shirt and jacket. He watched as the blonde fell to the ground as his friends surrounded him. Suddenly, all he saw was red and he attacked.

The man yelled as Sasuke's teeth clamped onto his arm and his claws hooked into his clothes. He tasted blood in his mouth, his own snarls, yelling in his ear and felt hands grab him, but he refused to let go. He wanted to tear the man's throat out. All he could see was Naruto in front of him bleeding. Naruto smiling at him. Bathing him. Naruto got hurt because of him.

"Kurogane."

At first, the soft voice didn't register in Sasuke's brain, but somehow it penetrated Sasuke's daze. Letting go of the arm, he turned to see Naruto propped against a woman's chest. Sakura. Hinata was also beside him pressing a towel against his chest. The men were trying to wrestle Sasuke off of the assailant and keep hold of him.

Naruto was panting and holding one arm acrossed his chest to minimize the blood loss and the other limp on the ground. He looked pale, too pale for his skin tone, and struggling to stay awake.

Turning around, Sasuke walked toward Naruto, but stopped when a firm grip held onto his collar. He turned and growled at Kiba who was looking at him with a firm glare.

"No, mutt," he said tugging him away from Naruto.

"Kiba, let him go," said Naruto strained.

Kiba looked at Naruto, unsure, and Naruto nodded. Still unsure, Kiba let Sasuke go and the dog walked toward the blonde. Naruto laughed painfully.

"Hey, boy," he said . "Quite a pickle we're in."

'Why did you do that, you moron,' asked Sasuke as he stood next to Naruto. 'Why did you protect me?'

"Are you okay, boy?" asked Naruto holding up his hand as if to pet Sasuke, but stopped and lowered his hand.

It never hit the ground. Sasuke lowered his head and set the hand on it. Naruto looked up in shock and Sasuke sat down next to him. Smiling, Naruto scratched behind an ear before his world went dark.

TBC


End file.
